Second Mission, Second Thoughts
by Drakonis Aurous
Summary: Kim and Ron: after Mr. Paisley's Mansion, they head for Montana...but, not to see Slim and Joss! The second, undocumented, mission of Team Possible. How it continued, and how they continued...
1. Daymare

Legal Disclaimer and whatnot: I don't own Kim Possible; Disney does. If I did, Bob and Mark would still be working for Disney, Kim Possible would have a fifth season and, maybe, a live action movie or two. While I'm on the subject, there are a number of cartoons that were put down by the infamous 65 limit which I'd like to re-instate and stop some of the stuff that's on now – you know, the one with the singing…Oy I'm ranting. Okay, enough of that – now, on to the story.

Author's Note: This story takes place between the team's first mission at Paisley's mansion and Tick-Tick-Tick. Kim and Ron are in their freshman year. Also, the dialog that's in italics is what the person is thinking.

Many, many thanks to cpneb for his beta-ing and helping me get this story into Fanficition.

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**Second Mission, Second Thoughts**

**Chapter 1: Daymare**

The low droning of the Lockheed L-100C's four propellers sounded incessantly throughout the cargo hold that Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable occupied. The old style cargo plane was the civilian version of the C-130 Hercules and was built mainly for hauling loads, not passengers, especially 13- year-old ones. Because of this, Kim and Ron were relegated to the cramped cargo hold during the flight; much of the area was filled with general store supplies and small tools. Most of the freight was packed in regulation cargo boxes of various sizes and loaded and strapped down by cargo nets, on either side of the plane, creating a narrow aisle down the middle.

Kim seated herself on the makeshift cloth seats next to the cockpit, as there were no real passenger seats. The pilot's dog, a Jack Russell Terrier with one eye covered by an eye patch, laid in the other set of seats. Ron wanted to ask about the dog, but decided against it – being in a strange place and the eye patch unnerved him. However, he had taken a liking to both Kim and Ron, which eased Ron's nervousness but it elevated slightly when the canine sniffed suspiciously at Ron's pocket.

She focused on her English homework despite the buzz of the engines and the unusual seating arrangements. The pilot, Mr. Cutter, had offered earplugs in case the engine noise was too much for them. Kim was glad he offered them; it helped her concentrate on her assignment and at the rate she was going, she would be finished an hour into the flight.

Ron, on the other hand, decided to put off the assignment until after the 'trip' – the noise was just too much to do any homework even with earplugs – at least that's what he reasoned. Since there wasn't room for the two of them on the cloth seats, Ron, being the gentleman, gave Kim the 'comfy' seats. He really wanted to seat himself next to his best friend, especially in a place such as this, but couldn't because the dog wouldn't let him. So Ron made due by sitting on a small couch made of sacks of flour wedged between two large crates. It was tolerable, but he could sprawl out if he wanted to. It took little effort on his part – he had to only to rearrange two of the bags to get the desired effect; that, and it was much better than sitting on the floor or on a box. One drawback, sans the need for good cushions, was that the crates blocked his view of Kim unless he leaned out into the aisle. Another was that it was noisier here, being closer to the engines, even with earplugs.

Once settled in, Ron reached into his pocket and pulled out a sleeping naked mole rat. Rufus had grown a little since Ron first got him a few months back – being longer and leaner now. He also was more active than when he first got him. However, Rufus had eaten a huge chunk of cheddar, to Ron's parents' dismay, just before they had left, and he was sleeping it off. Rufus slowly came out of his slumber, stretching and yawning with a mouth that seemed to open much larger than his head. The naked mole rat smacked his lips as he looked around. Seeing nothing of interest, he scampered up to Ron's shoulder. Pulling out an earplug, he squeaked "There yet?"

"Not yet," Ron replied.

Rufus frowned at Ron and then crossed his arms. "Humph," he huffed.

"Sorry, little buddy, I was just checking up on you…You okay?"

Rufus' frown soon faded and was replaced by a small smile. Giving him the naked mole rat version of a "thumbs up", Rufus raced back down to the pants pocket, relishing the warmth and comfort. Sleep would soon claim him despite the engine noise.

The blonde teen chuckled as soon as Rufus disappeared into his home away from home. "Yeah, it's probably better you stay there for now," Ron remarked quietly, "You don't wanna mess with that pilot's dog. Any dog that's got an eye patch has got to be tough."

Ron leaned over to check on the canine. He was still resting on the chairs but, somehow, noticed that he was being watched; his head popped up and returned an inquisitive glance. Ron smirked, not knowing what to think about the dog. He then gazed at his red-haired companion; she was still engrossed in her assignment.

Replacing the earplug, Ron settled back in and let his gaze wander as he didn't have a show to watch nor a game to play. After a few moments, it eventually settled on a large, plain crate labeled 'foodstuffs'. His eyes were focused on it but his mind wandered elsewhere.

"…_We're worldwide baby,"_ the blonde teen thought to himself. Images of that day at Mr. Paisley's mansion replayed in his head, ending with the same phrase. _"…We're worldwide baby!"_

"_Maybe…I spoke too soon,"_ he reasoned internally, _"I mean, it's kind of fun going with Kim and helping people and stuff -- we've done it, like, what thirty or so times? Montana's not exactly worldwide…but it's not some far off place like Japan or Britain or France either. Though, it'd be cool to go there...But we're not on a sightseeing trip – it's another 'rescue mission'…Wait, when did these things become 'missions'?"_

Ron frowned slightly, pondering over the question. After a few minutes, he reasoned, _"I guess this is a mission – especially if this one is on a plane and out of state...and it's one of those cool cargo planes like in 'Covert Combat II…although I was thinking it would be a lot less noisy…and more comfy...and not so cold...a bag of peanuts would've been nice too..." He nestled in his couch and let loose a small sigh, "Yeah, CC II: good game – it would be so cool if I could of finished mission twelve before we left. Two weeks, and I still haven't finished it…"_

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Ron closed his eyes and slowly drifted from here to an unfinished game of not so long ago. An observer's view of a dark olive C-130 Hercules flying just beneath the clouds and at night appeared in his mind's eye. Slowly as if in a movie, the first image faded and was replaced by one of the cargo hold's interior. There, Ron Stoppable appeared as a Special Forces soldier and was part of a team of like soldiers. All of them were dressed in full combat gear and made themselves busy with final preparations as they neared the target. Ron could somehow feel the plane rise, dip, and weave its way to the target. They must be getting close – the pilot was taking evasive maneuvers.

Radio chatter, the sounds of assault rifles being locked and loaded, and equipment straps being adjusted filled his ears. Ron felt like he should be doing the same – he did in the game – but here, he didn't, and he didn't know why. Instead, he put his hands on his knees, and rocking back and forth slightly, watched the other soldiers.

Another soldier, similarly dressed, suddenly appeared standing next to him. He was a mountain of man, having a frame much like Pain King or Steel Toe, and seemed to blot out much of the interior lighting. Ron couldn't see his face either; shadows obscured it. From what he could tell, this soldier seemed to be in charge of the operation. All of this unnerved the blonde teen.

"Stoppable," the lead soldier's deep voice boomed, "Are you ready?"

Ron wanted to but couldn't respond verbally. He only gulped and nodded a 'yes'. His fear rose.

Strangely, he could see a white grin appear on the 'faceless soldier'.

"Scared?" the soldier asked, his voice tinged with mockery.

Again, he gulped.

"Terrified," Ron squeaked, inching backwards.

Slowly and carefully, the commanding officer leaned in and then bellowed "SO WHY ARE YOU HERE?!?"

The blonde soldier opened his mouth to speak but before he could utter one word, there was flash of light and a thunderous roar – the plane had been hit! The craft shuddered and started to dive. Its occupants scrambled frantically from the gaping hole that replaced two commandoes. Wind rushed past him and out of the breech with a loud howl. Seemingly unfazed, the squad leader directed his attention on Ron, and to the blonde's surprise, the commander repeated, "WHY…ARE…YOU…HERE?"

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"I DON'T KNOW!" Ron exclaimed, as he shot up from his relaxed position and almost spilled out into the aisle. With eyes as wide as dinner plates, he scanned all about him. The soldiers and the hole had faded away to reveal the real cargo; the howling was silenced, only to be replaced by the sound of the cargo plane's engines – and Ron's gasping.

Rufus, who had shot out of his nesting place when Ron practically jumped out of his 'chair', raced to the top of an adjacent crate, looking around wildly and squeaking excitedly. Seeing nothing out of place, Rufus quickly quieted down and watched his human. Somehow, in the relatively short span of time he had known his human, the naked mole rat sensed that Ron was afraid of a number of things, but never saw his human panic like this.

The pilot's dog eyed the small pink mammal, but didn't act on it.

Ron blinked hard once, and then twice, and then a third and final time before the hyperventilation slowed enough for him to speak again. "I don't know…" he repeated softly.

He collapsed back onto the sacks. "I don't know…" he whispered, swaying ever so slightly back and forth. Rufus took it upon himself to crawl down onto Ron's shoulder and comfort him. "Poor Ron," Rufus squeaked, patting him on the head, "It's okay."

The blonde teen smiled at his faithful non-human best friend as he regained his composure. "Thanks buddy."

"No problem." Seeing that the episode had diffused itself, Rufus returned to his favorite nesting spot.

Leaning out into the aisle, Ron looked to his best friend to see if she had witnessed the ordeal. Kim seemed oblivious to it, pouring over her English assignment. Ron was stunned, shocked even, but then it came to him – the earplugs. He stared at her for a few minutes but it seemed as if they were hours.

Kim must have sensed something soon after that, as she looked up at her best friend.

'Are you okay?' she mouthed.

The blonde responded by smiling and giving her a 'thumbs up'.

The redhead smiled in return and after a few seconds returned to her English assignment.

Ron returned to his couch, but the smile melted away. He dropped his head into his hands and muttered, "So why am I here?"

The plane's monotonous roar was the only reply.

But a few minutes later, he reminded himself, "Because you were the one who helped get her here in the first place…"

To be continued…

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Chapter End Notes: This is my first story on Fanfiction. Like the series, I've incorporated some pop culture references – seven to be exact. Why? I'm quirky that way, and the series included them as well so I'm following suit. See if you can find them. The first is a dog – he does have a name. It's a tribute to an older show…Other than that I'm not sure what to say here other than this: Read and review – please and thank you.


	2. Asking Permission

Legal Disclaimer: Disney owns Kim Possible. Now if I did, well I already said my piece in chapter 1...

Thanks to Jeriddian, CajunBear73, JAKT, RonHeartbreaker, and Mr. Wizard for reading and reviewing.

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**Second Mission, Second Thoughts**

**Chapter 2: Asking Permission**

Earlier that day, at the Possible's split level ranch house…

"Please, Daddy? It's totally legit – Wade checked it out. Mr. Paisley even got us a ride there and back – it's for a close friend of his…It's like the other 'favors' we've done…except this is out of Middleton…in a different state – but it's only a couple of states away and it's really close to uncle Slim's ranch," Kim pleaded to her father, using her best "puppy dog pout" or "PDP".

James Possible remained silent behind his newspaper fortress. The rocket scientist knew it was the last time before Kim and Ron would miss their 'launch window'. Since he had not given his answer, he knew full well that his daughter would try her hardest, resorting to the PDP. He was prepared and knew the one secret to counter the puppy dog pout: it was rendered useless when its victim couldn't see it.

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Kim recognized her father's tactic, and ceased using the pout. She would have tried something else but she couldn't; the PDP was the last thing in her 'arsenal'. Collapsing in her chair, she muttered, "…It's, it's what…I…do…" Kim glanced at Ron, who simply smiled sheepishly and shrugged his shoulders from his chair. Realizing that she had inadvertently omitted her best friend, she corrected herself, "It's what WE do."

Ron seemed to brighten up at that moment, flashing a small grin. Kim briefly returned his smile with her silvered one. Suddenly, the notion of 'reinforcements' came to mind and she looked to the elder redhead in the Possible family. Unfortunately, that idea was dashed. Within an instant, an unspoken conversation had passed between them, the auburn haired teen knew that her mother's answer was a 'yes' but only if her father also agreed. The younger redhead sighed slightly; she had been pleading with him for thirty minutes. Normally, something like this would have taken but five minutes, but her father was being 'impossible', this time.

Mr. Possible simply snorted behind "the Examiner". Truth be told, the rocket scientist was torn. He cared for his little girl's safety and to him Kim was still his little "Kimmie-cub". However, he also knew that she could take of herself; she was bright and perceptive, versed in sixteen forms of kung fu, and had previous experience with rescues and helping people in need before.

This required a great deal of thought.

If he said 'no' now, he could be comfortable with the fact that his only daughter would be safe – well much safer than out there – but it would crush her spirit and, most likely, Kim would resent him for a long time.

If he said 'yes', then she would be happy, but her hobby – Mr. Dr. P. thought of this as just her 'hobby' – could get her in potentially dangerous situations. Plus, she was growing into a beautiful young woman and being so far from home would make it much harder to keep an eye on her. It was difficult for him already with all the extracurricular activities Kim was currently involved in.

He needed help on this one…

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"Mr. Possible," Ron said quietly.

Despite Ron's voice being a little louder than whisper, it had the effect of a sonic boom. Almost as soon as the friendship between Kim and Ron had been forged back in the early days of Pre-K, Ron had called Kim, "KP" and her parents, "Mr. Dr. P." and "Mrs. Dr. P." Sometimes, he would call her "Kim" but her parents were always called "Mr. Dr. P." and "Mrs. Dr. P." Formally addressing them meant something very important, meriting full attention.

Both Kim and Anne Possible, looked at Ron wide-eyed and slack-jawed, and had the twins been here instead of soccer practice, they, too would have had the same initial reaction. James Possible was shocked as well but his eyes and jaw were in check. The paper wall, however, buckled and bowed slightly.

"I know this doesn't sit well with you," he said and drew in a deep breath, "but Kim can do this."

Ron then stood up from his chair and continued, "She's helped out a lot people: Mrs. Mahoney, Mr. Paisley, Mr. McHenry, Heinrich, Mr. Jacobs, Mrs. Dwight, umm…err, the guy who…well he, umm – I can't remember the rest right now but you get the idea," he said as he rubbed the back of his neck and grinned nervously.

Ron abruptly stopped his nervous twitch, cleared his throat, and continued; this time with greater conviction, "She's also done a lot of good things in Middleton – helped a lot of people here. Like Kim said, it's what WE do."

He took a step towards Kim's father. "People need her. People trust her. People want her help. I mean look at all the requests she's gotten ever since her website went up. Kim's good at what she does, and she loves every minute of it. I see it every time we go on these things, and I'm amazed every single time."

Ron glanced back to see Kim smiling, with eyes glistening. Her mother mimicked her daughter's reaction. Turning back to Kim's father, "Oh, I'm sure she'll do well here, in Middleton," he continued, stressing the last part of the sentence, "but I think Kim will do better out there. I could be wrong but I'm betting that I'm not. But…we really won't know unless we get that chance…And I don't know what will happen if we miss this chance. And who's to say we'll get another one, if we don't go?"

Mr. Dr. P's paper wall started to descend – he was faltering and Ron knew it. He could see it in Mr. Dr. P.'s eyes – the paper was low enough for that.

The blonde haired teen paused for dramatic effect.

"After all Mr. D. P.," he smiled brightly, "What do you always say in times like this?"

"Anything's possible for a Possible," James Possible replied.

The Examiner fortress had fallen. A moment of silence followed.

"All right, Ronald," he sighed in defeat, "She can go, as long as you go with her, Ronald."

"Ah, Booyah!!!" Ron exclaimed, raising his fist in the air. "Thanks Mr. Dr. P.!!!"

For an instant, Ron could swear that he saw sadness in the rocket scientist's eyes. It had reminded him of his own father who, earlier that day, had the same brief look just after he had given his permission for Ron to go with Kim. He could have looked into it further but Kim had rushed to her father, obscuring his scrutiny.

"Thank you, Daddy!" Kim gushed as she hugged her father tightly. "Thank you, thank you! I promise I'll be careful."

Quickly, Kim turned towards to her blonde hair best friend. "Ron," Kim said, her emerald eyes still shimmering, "I can't believe you said all that for me! Thanks, Ron, you rock!"

He put his hand to the back of his neck, flashing his trademark smile, and said, "Well, KP it's true. It's no b –"

Ron's response was cut short by a flash of red hair. Kim embraced him, almost bowling him over. Despite it being almost a crushing hug, and his eyes practically bulged out of their sockets, he appreciated it – really appreciated it, especially when she hugged him a little longer than she usually did. Plus, he did notice that her hair smelled really nice. But deep down, way deep down, a small part of him wanted a little more – he was at that age where he really started noticing girls. However, the greater part of him was, well, a tad uncomfortable – this was his best friend, not his girlfriend, after all.

"KP…Can't…breathe…" he wheezed, part of his response being true.

Abruptly, Kim released her grip. "Sorry," she said, her cheeks blushing. "But thanks, Ron. I don't think I'd get this chance if you didn't say something," she continued, and then biting her lower lip.

A faint pink tingle grew on Ron's cheeks. "Heh heh," he replied bashfully, "No big, KP."

Anne Possible hugged them both, "Be careful out there you two."

James Possible smiled and added, "Now Ronald, you take good care my Kimmie-cub."

"Daddy!" Kim exclaimed and then growled slightly. She started to speak when Ron spoke up again.

"Mr. Dr. P., Mrs. Dr. P.," Ron replied honestly, "Have been, always will. You got my promise."

The Possibles, satisfied with his oath, simply smiled in response.

"Come on, Ron. Let's get ready," Kim said, pulling him upstairs, "Wade sent me new stuff to try."

"Gadgets? I'm all about the gadgets! Booyah!"

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Shortly after the two adventuring teens disappeared into the upper level of the ranch house, Mr. Dr. P. folded his paper and placed it on the table. "Ronald's right: Kimmie-cub is good at this," James admitted, "Just the other day, I talked to Mr. Henderson at lunch and he wanted to thank Kimmie for finding his dog…"

He grabbed his now cold cup of coffee, sipped it, and made a face, "I can't believe I'm letting her go out there. It's just that she's so…driven, so into this hobby of hers. It's not like I could really say 'no'."

Mrs. Dr. P. sat down next to her husband and raised an eyebrow. "So what was with the hiding then?" she asked, pointing towards the fallen paper wall.

"I guess I thought I could keep her here a little longer," he admitted, pushing his frigid cup of java away, "But I really can't, can I?"

"She's growing up, James," Anne replied, "She's not a child anyone. She's older than her age."

"Older than her age?" the rocket scientist questioned.

"Yes, in some ways, she's more mature than most girls her age. She's done a lot of things that most adults haven't and probably will do a lot more."

"That's what I'm afraid of Anne."

"James, she'll **always** be our daughter."

"I know, Anne," he sighed, "Maybe I do worry too much. It's just…" James Possible couldn't finish his sentence.

"Oh, James," she smiled, "Kimmie will be alright. Ron's with her and you know those two. They'll take care of each other. They've been doing that since Pre-K."

"I'm sure he will."

She then went to her husband and kissed him on the forehead. After refreshing her husband's cup of coffee, the neurosurgeon gazed fondly upstairs and silently echoed what Ron and said. "Have been, always will."

To be continued…

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Chapter End Notes: Asking permission - something that kids do at some point. In regards to the series, it focused more on Kim's parents so I echoed it. This was a little difficult for me trying to rationalize why a father would allow his teen daughter to go to some far off place with only her best friend. I'm assuming that the KP world is a lot less harsh, Kim meets the right people, or both.

The dog's name is Jack, he's from the old series "Tales of the Gold Monkey". It is thought that Disney's Talespin was loosely based off of that series. (JAKT was the closest to guess). Hey, I liked that dog…


	3. Mission Gear and Ron Night

Legal Disclaimer and whatnot: Nope still don't own Kim Possible; Disney does.

Thanks to CajunBear73, spectre666, and RonHeartbreaker for reviewing.

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**Second Mission, Second Thoughts**

**Chapter 3: Mission Gear and Ron Night**

Currently, back in the plane…

"Kim," he said simply and then smiled brightly. With his fear put down for now, he settled in once again and thought, _"Funny, who would have thought that helping Mr. Paisley would lead us here? I mean, what are the chances of him having a fellow Cuddle Buddy collector…hmm. Well that's probably pretty high. Okay, but still what about a lost calf? Well, Mr. Davis does own a ranch…"_

Ron shook his head. _"Okay, okay…then why couldn't Mr. Davis get someone like closer – like from his own ranch? And couldn't Mr. Paisley get us on a faster flight out there? I mean he probably has access to a private jet or two – he's got a mansion. By the time we get there, it's gonna be Monday…He must a spent his fundage on the Cuddle Buddies…"_

Again, Ron looked about their current form of transport. Despite it being in perfect working order, it looked well worn. A mosaic of scratches, dents, and patches could easily been seen on the plane's walls. It had seen better days.

"_Most deeeeefinitely fundage on the 'Buddies'."_

Suddenly, his stomach growled. He rubbed his belly in an attempt to pacify his gastrointestinal emptiness. _"Man, I'm in need of some major snackage. Why couldn't we have stopped by Bueno Nacho before we left? I'd have even settled for 'to go'. I mean, it's a Friday – Wait, Friday? Aww man: Bueno Nacho night…"_

Ron's stomach growled louder in protest.

"I need Bueno Nacho," he whimpered.

Again, his stomach growled, as if in agreement.

--

After consuming a rather unappetizing energy bar, Ron leaned over to check on his best friend. Surprisingly, just as he started to lean, Kim walked right passed him, without so much as a "Hi". Miffed, the blonde stared incredulously at his red-haired friend as she walked towards the rear of the plane, wanting to say something, but the words wouldn't come out. He knew the face that Kim made; one of Kim deep in thought. Ron's attitude shifted from annoyance to curiosity.

--

"_Wow! We're actually here,"_ Kim Possible thought, _"We're actually on a real mission. An honest, out-of-the-state, worth writing about in my diary, big time mission. And I can't believe we actually got to go it alone!"_

Memories of the mornings flashed through her mind. _"I can't believe Ron said all that this morning, but where did that all come from? I've never seen Ron do or say something like that. He really stepped up."_

Kim was in awe at her best friend. Recently in his life, many people saw Ron Stoppable simply as a slacker, the guy who would be the least successful, that quirky blonde outcast, or the weird kid that was somehow Kim Possible's best friend. But Kim knew better, much better – better that anyone else. Although Ron could be lazy, and several times was, he came through when she needed it.

"_It's strange. Ron is afraid of a lot of things, but he came along without complaining. Well, I'm glad he came along with me, because I really don't think I could go it alone…at least without him. It just makes sense, really. We've been best friends since Pre-K and we've been through a lot…So why not this?"_

She soon realized that she had come to the rear of the plane. _"Since I'm here, I might as well check up on our stuff." _

At first glance, it appeared to be gear for a hiking trip; three days of trail rations, a change of clothes, and a light bedroll. But that was to one side of the plane, their specialty gear was another matter. In addition to the Kimmunicator (kept in her hip pocket), they packed two sets of climbing equipment and two sets of skydiving gear (which included helmets with heads up displays and linked communication lines).

Looking at the specialty equipment, Kim was amazed how an eight year old, computer/engineering genius could craft these devices just in time for this mission. The fact that these items were given to them at no cost other than being part of the team was just as amazing.

"You are one lucky girl, Possible. You got Ron and Wade."

She thought of Wade Load fondly, remembering their first meeting. Kim received a hit on the site from Wade, who had offered his services. Wade had revealed that he had watched their exploits ever since Kim had tumbled her way through the McHenry laser grid system. It was one of the best systems that money could buy and to have someone technically defeat the system without any sort of gear merited his attention – after all, he wanted to get one as well. He offered to revamp and maintain the website in exchange for being part of the team. The African-American computer genius would be their source of information and would even supply them with gear that they would need for missions – the very first piece of equipment was the Kimmunicator. Soon after, a friendship was forged.

--

Seeing that all was in order, Kim grinned. She then looked at her mission outfit. _"I hope this looks professional – I really want to make a good first impression…"_

For the first time, Kim and Ron sported what would become their signature gear. The teen redhead wore a snug, black crop top; loose, olive cargo pants with a leather equipment belt; dark gray gloves and black, sneaker-like boots. Ron was similarly dressed except his shirt was more like a regular t-shirt and his cargos were dark gray. Also, his ensemble was from Smarty Mart and Kim's was from Club Banana. Ron wanted something more like the outfits worn by superheroes, like Team Go but Kim dismissed the idea, saying that they were just helping people and not a costumed superhero team. She was in favor of something more functional.

Despite her outfit being very much in order, Kim fixed what she saw, smoothing out small, insignificant wrinkles, refolding the lip of her glove and readjusting her belt. After her spot check, Kim walked past Ron, who simply watched. The red-haired teen sat down in her "seat" and proceeded to fix her ponytail. Ron peered out from his couch to see her fix herself up when she really didn't need to. After fixing her hair, Kim went beck to adjusting her mission outfit. A pattern started to form.

To Ron, watching her repeat this pattern of re-checking, re-straightening, and re-smoothing several times was getting more disturbing by the minute. Ron had noticed this behavior soon after grade school. Although it was important, sometimes his best friend became overly concerned about her appearance, like now.

"_What? Not again,"_ he thought, _"She has got to stop doing that."_

"Uh, KP?" the blonde voiced loud enough to be heard over the engines. The eye-patched dog heard Ron and lifted his head in response; Kim did not.

"KIM!" he implored, standing up; still nothing from his redheaded companion.

"KIMBERLY ANN!" Ron practically screamed as he marched close to the redhead.

"What? What?" she answered, snapping out of her reverie and finding herself very close to her tow-headed companion.

He drew a quick but deep breath and continued, in a much softer tone, "Kim, you look fine – bon-diggety even. No need for you to make yourself prettier, 'cause, umm y-y-you…um uh already are…" he gulped, cheeks slightly flushed.

Kim blushed lightly in response and bowing her head slightly, she replied "Really?"

"Uh…yeah. Yeah, you are."

Kim smiled warmly and Ron returned hers with his goofy grin. Unfortunately, both smiles soon melted away, as a wave of awkwardness washed over them and both took a step back.

"So…" Ron said looking anywhere but at his best friend.

"So…" came Kim's response, glancing at the ground.

"So….we're going to rescue a lost calf and the odds are we'll probably get dirty – very dirty. It's not like it's a fashion show or a press conference…" he blurted. Taking a deep breath, he continued, "It's another pet rescue – we're not fighting crime, saving the world, or something like that. The biggest thing we've done was for Mr. Paisley. So, you don't need to check the appearance, KP…Besides, all that moving around is giving me the…uh…belly flips." Ron rubbed his belly to emphasize the point.

Kim raised an eyebrow. "Belly flips?"

"Yeah," he replied flatly, "We missed Bueno Nacho today – it's Friday, ya'know, we're on a strange plane, and I'm kind of hungry…"

"Oh," Kim remarked. Suddenly it dawned upon her, "Oh! It's 'Ron night,' isn't it?"

"'Ron night'?" he asked, "Not that I'm dissin' the name or anything like that but 'Ron night'?"

"Yeah, 'Ron night'. You're the one who came up with the idea to hang out and do stuff on Fridays. So it's 'Ron night'. Ya'know going to the fair, catching a movie, eating at Bueno Nacho…stuff like that," Kim smiled, flashing her braces.

"Oh…Okay…Yeah…Got it."

"It's not like it's a 'date night' or anything. Just two friends, hanging out, right?"

"Friends, right," he agreed – well, except for that part way deep down.

The blonde haired teen opened his mouth to say more but a man dressed in a tan, collared shirt with matching pants, a leather bomber jacket, and a pilot's cap, stepped in from the flight deck. His uniform strangely reminded Ron of a World War II bomber pilot.

"Ms. Possible?" he asked.

"Yes?" she smiled.

"We'll be flying closest to the ranch in a few minutes. Are you sure you don't want to wait?" he asked, "You can always catch a ride from the airport after we land. You really don't have to jump."

"Thanks Mr. Cutter. We'll be fine. We've skydived before. Plus, it'll be quicker this way."

"Skydived?" Ron squeaked.

"Suit yourself. I just do what Mr. Paisley asks. Just let me know when you and your friend, uh…"

"Ron." Kim added.

"Right…You and Don let us know when you're both ready to go. We'll open the door for you."

"Thanks again Mr. Cutter."

"Um excuse me? It's Ron as Ro––" Ron cut himself off as Mr. Cutter and his dog disappeared into the flight deck without stopping.

"Huh," Ron huffed, "Must have been the engine noise."

--

"'K. Let's get the packs and the chutes on."

"Um, chutes?" Ron asked meekly.

"That's what I said," she said plainly.

"Like, as in, 'parachutes'" Ron questioned, using air quotes.

"Ron!"

"What? Wouldn't it, like, be better if we like ride into the airport and take it from there? I'm all for the easier way down."

"Come on Ron, I just told Mr. Cutter that we're getting off here. Weren't you listening?" asked Kim as she had finished putting on her gear.

"Umm…heh-heh…Yeah, but I'm not too keen on jumping out of a perfectly safe plane." Ron said while making a quick check to make sure Rufus was secure.

"Not too keen?"

"Yeah, I've only skydived like twice, and both times it was with an instructor, and he pulled the cord," Ron replied hefting the parachute pack over his shoulders.

"I know: I was there. You'll be fine. Besides, you got us this far…" she said, putting on her helmet.

"Eh …I did, didn't I?" he gulped as he finished strapping the suit and donning his headgear.

"Yep," she smiled her silver smile. Kim turned to the door leading to the cockpit and knocked on the door. The pilot's face appeared in the small window. Kim gave the thumbs up. Mr. Cutter acknowledged her and then left the window.

"Isn't it too late to jump?" Ron questioned, looking out the window at the late afternoon sky. "It's getting kinda dark."

"Sunset is, like, in two hours, Ron. There's still plenty of sunlight."

A minute later, the lights in the cargo hold turned red and the rear door started to descend. Ron almost froze where he stood but Kim walked proudly towards the portal leading to the open sky. Smiling warmly, she gestured for Ron to step forward.

"We'll jump together okay? Just to remember to pull the cord when I do!" she yelled to him and extended her gloved hand. He stepped forward cautiously. Once close enough, Ron gripped her hand tightly as they stood at the edge of the cargo door. The blonde turned ghostly white as soon as he saw the earth far, far below them.

"On three," Kim hollered, holding up one finger.

"This is not how I see us spending a 'Ron night'!" he complained.

Kim held up two fingers. 'What?' she mouthed.

"I said this is not something we should be doing on a––"

Kim held up three fingers and within an instant, two figures jumped off the platform, one voluntarily, the other not so much. They fell to the earth below, with one of them screaming at the top of his lungs.

To be continued…

--

Chapter End Notes: Since Ron had the spotlight in the first chapter; it's Kim's turn. I did like how the skydiving prep scene worked out. Now let's see how Ron handles his Ron night jumping out of a plane.

If you're detecting a little K/R fluff well I've done my job. I'm taking this from So the Drama: "Something's different now. There's something between us. Who am I kidding? That's not different. Something's been there a long time. I think there's something there…." And Homecoming Upset "It took you twelve stinkin' years for you to kiss me!" I figure that Kim and Ron were starting to think about each other in that way but might not have said anything nor acted on it...yet.


	4. Sky Diving

Legal Disclaimer and whatnot: Just to be clear; Disney owns Kim Possible. I just write about them. I don't profit from this fictional work. Got it? Good. Now, onto the story.

Thanks to CajunBear73 and Ran Hakubi for reviewing.

-------------------

**Second Mission, Second Thoughts**

**Chapter 4: Sky Diving**

Kim was amazed at the lung power that her best friend had: he had screamed for the last few minutes, starting from the split second they leapt off of Mr. Cutter's plane. He was quiet now and Kim's cursory glance showed that he wasn't flailing about wildly, out of control, or signaling for help.

Looking into the helmet's HUD, Kim saw the homestead displayed on screen. They were a little ways off, only needing a minor course correction, but would it cost them some time. She didn't mind it though; it would give her more time to be up here.

"_I am so glad Ron convinced the 'rents to let us go here,"_ she thought to herself, _"This is, like, the best..."_

Kim relished being in freefall and took the opportunity to perform a few flips, spins, and changes to her speed. An outside observer would have thought that she was born up here.

Ron on the other hand would give anything to have both feet on terra firma. Unlike Kim, he was rigid and focused on the rapidly approaching earth. He would have screamed more but his throat was raw and could only gasp now. Tears streamed from his face but, thankfully, he didn't have any 'unexpected surprises of the biological kind.'

---

Kim checked the time on her display and seeing that enough of it had expired, she moved in close. "Ron?" she said with a raised voice.

He did not answer nor respond. Closer she moved, within arm's length. "RON?"

Still nothing from the blonde teen but she was certain he heard her. Kim's worry escalated as well as her guilt. _"Should I have waited for the plane to land instead of pulling this stunt?"_ she self-questioned. _"Too late now, Possible,"_ her mind voiced. Kim shook that thought away and took action. Ever closer she moved, face to face. Her distress, as well as her regret, skyrocketed as she saw his expression. He was wide-eyed and stared through her. Her hands shot out, grasping his shoulders. She shook him vigorously, screaming, "RON!"

Within moments Ron's fear ridden voice replied, "K-K-Kim?"

"Yes! It's Kim, you're best friend," she retorted. Taking his hands, Kim continued, "Now listen to me, Ron! It's like before, the only diff' that you're solo…But I'm here. Okay?" She smiled at him as she waited for a response.

Ron looked at Kim, wondering how she could be so calm as they hurtled to the ground. But he had to do this; he convinced the parents. He promised to watch over her. He would have to be there for her. So, he would have to do this. Breathing deeply, he nodded a 'yes'.

"Okay, I'm letting go and then we're going to pull the cord on three. Got it?"

Ron drew in a deep breath. "Yeah. Got it."

"Good," Kim replied, released her grip and steered herself a short distance away.

"One…two…three."

Both teens were jerked back as the cloth unfurled itself and blossomed into a lifesaving arc. As they quickly slowed to a comfortable rate of descent, Kim hollered to Ron, "See? No big." She smiled a reassurance to her best friend.

"Yeah," he gulped, "No big."

Ron had to admit that gliding was much better than freefall; having a calming effect. Kim's warm smile further enhanced that feeling.

"So according to Wade's map, we aim for the road and follow it. It'll take us right to the Davis Ranch. We'll land just outside the front yard. Can you follow me, Ron?"

"Yeah," came his reply, "This part I can do."

Kim looked back to see that Ron was true to his word. He followed Kim as if had been parachuting for years. The worry and guilt she felt earlier had left her. _"Maybe, we'll wait to land next time," she said to herself, "But, that was fun at least for me. Maybe I should take Ron on more skydiving lessons…"_

------------------

As they gently glided to their target, the scenic Montana countryside unfolded before them. From their vantage point, the teen pair could see rolling hills, vast emerald plains spotted by small clusters of trees and the small rugged mountains to the south and west. The sun was moving towards the horizon making the whole view even more picturesque.

In the distance, they could see their target; a large, two-story house surrounded by a large wooden fence. Four bungalows, two on each side, flanked the main house and a large barn was to its rear. A small stream was off to one side and a large group of trees was to the other. Overall, the scene looked like your typical western dude ranch.

"There," she pointed to a clearing just before the front gate. "Mr. Davis should be able to see us from there."

"Okay. Sounds good, KP."

------------------

The redhead performed a landing worthy of a professional, touching down just before the main gate. Ron, on the other hand, wasn't quite so lucky. He guided himself to land close to Kim but somehow managed to hit the only tree in the vicinity. "Ow!" he cried and as he hit the top of the tree.

"RON!" Kim screamed as she released the chute and ran towards him.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!" Ron exclaimed as he fell from the top, bounced off several branches and came to rest a couple of feet off the ground. He found himself suspended by the chutes lines, resembling a marionette.

"Ron? Are you okay?"

"Yeah…Nothing broken – just a few bumps," he replied as he struggled, "Now, eh, let's, eh ugh…going eh to that ranch ugh."

The more he struggled, the most entangled he became, and the more of an awkward position he found himself in. Kim could only watch in disbelief.

"KP, a little help here!"

"Sorry, Ron. It's just you managed to hit the only tree here," she replied moving in to help.

"Heh-heh, yeah…sorry KP," huffed Ron as he struggled further.

"Hold still! You're tangling the lines more. We're going to be late!"

"Wait wait uhhh ehh I think I ehh got it" Ron replied, "…No that's not ugh right..."

Kim huffed and attempted to unravel the cords. With Ron struggling, this actually worsened the predicament. "No Ron…Stop…No ugh…Ron now it's really…Ron!" Kim's frustration was growing exponentially.

Kim and Ron struggled for a few more moments but to no avail – Ron was actually more entangled than when he started off. The red-haired teen sat on the ground, rested her head on her palms and sighed in defeat. "Great. Just great. This will make a wonderful first impression. Thanks a lot, Ron."

"…Sorry KP," Ron replied, "But it wasn't my fault. The wind changed on me and––"

"This happened to you other two times with an instructor. An instructor, Ron, an instructor!" she broke in, holding up two fingers.

"But the second time wasn't into a tree."

"Ron, ya landed in the hangar. No one lands in the hangar."

"Heh…oh yeah, that's right…Oh, hey wait. Wade packed our gadgets, right?"

"Yea. Your point?"

"Uhh isn't there something in your backpack that, like, could cut me out?"

Kim rummaged through her pack but found nothing of use. "Other than a nail file, no," she said dejectedly.

"Aww man, that tanks! Maybe next time Wade could whip us up mini cutting torch cufflinks or something like that. Kind of a spyish thing. That would be so cool!"

She frowned, "First of all Ron, I don't wear cufflinks. Second 'spyish'? Not a word. Third, you're still stuck. Besides at the rate we're going, there may not be a next time…"

"What?" Ron said, "Ah c'mon KP, it's just a little setback. 'sides it's not so bad up here – it's kind of like a hammock." To emphasize his point, he made the tangled mess swing back and forth.

"Ron, this is no time to be fooling around," she stated as her gaze fell downwards "…Maybe I should have stuck to––"

"Ahem," squeaked a small voice. Within an instant, a small pink hairless mammal appeared from the mess of Ron, cords, and a parachute.

"RUFUS!" Ron exclaimed.

"Rufus? You brought your pet?"

"Hello," Rufus waved causally.

"Well, yeah. He's my best – next to you, of course. He practically goes everywhere with me."

"Hnk Hnk Yeah, best friend!" Rufus squeaked.

"Ooookay," Kim replied derisively, "So what's Rufus got to do with this?"

"Heeeeeello? Naked mole rat. Big teeth?"

Rufus put his hands in the air and flashed his two huge teeth. "Tah Dah!"

"Rufus, can you chew through these ropes, buddy?"

"Okay!" the naked mole rat chirped, and scrambled up the tree.

------------------

Within minutes of chewing, Rufus had cut through the ropes, dropping Ron unceremoniously on the ground with a resounding "thud" and sounding an "Ow!". After shucking the ropes and dusting himself off, the blonde smiled, "Booyah! The Ronman is ready to go."

Ron's non-human best friend quickly scampered onto his shoulder. His best friend, however, stood up but didn't move. She wore a troubled expression. "All of this, the flight here, the skydive, being tangled up and yet he pulled through and took all in stride," Kim thought to herself, "And what do you do? Ya yell at him. Some friend you are, Kim."

Kim sighed sadly at the thought. Slowly, she moved to her blonde haired friend.

"C'mon, KP," Ron beckoned, "The Davis Ranch awaits. And I've heard that these places have bon-diggety meals."

"Uh huh, meals!" Rufus added, licking his lips.

She quickened her pace to catch up. "Ron?"

"Yeah, KP?"

"Sorry I made you jump when you weren't ready," she uttered, biting her lower lip, "And sorry that I harshed on you back there…It's just that I want to make this first meeting just right, ya'know? This is, like, majorly important and I thought you were…well, goofing off."

Ron looked at her strangely, snorted and then displayed his lopsided grin "Kim. Maybe the parachuting was a bit much but it really wasn't that bad – I just got to get used to it. I mean, it looks like it could be fun if I didn't have to worry about, like, falling. And the tangled in the tree thing? Pshaw! It was just a little set back. Nuthin' we couldn't handle, right?"

"Oh yeah," Rufus squeaked.

Kim forced a smile. Ron put his hand on her shoulder, "Look, I know this is important to you. I wouldn't screw up something like this. Stuff like this happens sometimes – well, maybe not the parachute thing, but, sometimes stuff does happen, so ya gotta ride it through, right?"

"Ron,' Kim smiled in response. "Ron's right. After all of this, it still turned out okay."

"'sides, it's not like it's going to happen again…at least I don't think so, being the third time and all…C'mon," he motioned towards the Davis residence, "This is your thing – your website – show 'em what you can do, KP. I gotcha back."

Kim strode forward, grinning. She whispered to herself, "Yes, you do Ron. Thanks."

To be continued…

-------------------

Chapter End Notes: I haven't skydived myself but I've seen some actual ones. At the beginning of the series, Ron appears to be afraid of skydiving but does it anyway. I took the opportunity here to describe Ron's first jump and to add a little Ronness. Next stop, the ranch and why Kim and Ron got this mission.


	5. Night at the Davis Ranch

Legal Whatnot: Okay people listen up, Disney owns Kim Possible, not me; I just write about them. Now I could say something about Disney's current schedule but you don't want to hear my rant again do you?

Thanks to spectre666, Ran Hakubi, CajunBear73, and yvj for reviewing.

-------------------

**Second Mission, Second Thoughts**

**Chapter 5: Night at the Davis Ranch**

The main gate to the Davis estate wasn't an imposing portal structure; it was simply a part of the fence that opened and closed by a small motor, but still, they stopped short of it. Ahead of them was a long stretch of paved road, lined by tall trees.

Kim pulled out the Kimmunicator from her side pocket and dialed the team's tech genius, Wade. Ron leaned in close to Kim to get a better look at the new gadget and to say hi. The image of a stout, African American nine-year-old smiled back at them. "Wade?" Kim asked.

"You guys okay?" he asked, "Your helmet transponders stopped moving for a while. I was just about to call when they started to move again."

"We're okay. We just ran into a little snag," Kim replied.

"Yeah, parachute trouble," Ron added.

"Ooo. Are you guys okay?" he asked in a tone tinged with worry.

"We're fine. Ron had a little run in with a tree, though."

Ron smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Just some bumps and maybe a bruise."

"Ouch," Wade winced, "So what up, Kim?"

"Could you call Mr. Davis and let him know we're here?"

"Sure, but I can do one better. I can connect you to the main line. Just give me a minute."

"Please and thank you," the redhead grinned.

Wade took one sip from his Slurpster, interlocked and then flexed his fingers. They separated and hit the keyboard. His digits danced on the keyboard to a symphony of clicks, lasting only a few seconds. As soon as the clicking stopped, he looked back up at the screen and smiled, "Done. It's voice only seeing that they don't have a direct vidlink. Just hit the send button and it'll connect directly. Good luck out there."

"Thanks. You rock, Wade!"

Kim did as instructed and soon enough a man's voice answered the line. "Davis Dude Ranch, Mr. Davis speaking. What can I do ya for?"

"Uhh Mr. Davis. This is...is...uh?" Kim looked at Ron who motioned her to continue on, "This is Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable. Mr. Paisley sent us. We're here to help out with a lost cow."

"Kim? Kim...Oh yeah, Kim Possible. So you're the ones that Paisley talked about. Where are y'all? Out front?"

"Yes, we just got here."

"Good. Gimme a few and I'll come git yah. Sit tight, all right?"

"Thanks, Mr. Davis."

"My pleasure, ma'am."

------------------

Mr. Davis came out driving a white Humvee with a set of large horns mounted atop its hood. Kim was very surprised to see that a man that looked very much like her uncle Slim had greeted them. The only noticeable differences were that he was slightly shorter and rounder and his face was a little on the heavy side. This man even dressed like her uncle right down to the cowboy hat and bolo tie but the colors were off; he had an off white shirt and blue jeans.

"Mr. Davis?" Kim had to ask.

"Yes, ma'am," he said in a voice an octave lower than her uncle. He took off his cowboy hat and extended his hand, "Jonathan Davis, at your service, but y'all can call me 'John'."

"Pleasure to meet you, John," Kim replied, shaking his hand.

John then offered his hand to Ron, "And, you are?"

"Uhh, Ron Stoppable."

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, too, Ron." he said motioning for them to get into the SUV and added, "Step on in and I'll get your stuff loaded."

The second they seated themselves and buckled in, Ron turned to Kim and exclaimed, "Hey, Mr. Davis got my name right! "KP! He got my name right! Almost no one gets it right!"

"Ron."

"It's not like it's a hard name to remember."

"Ron!"

"It's not like its something off the wall like Terry––"

"RON!"

"Oh…right…Sorry, KP."

Mr. Davis had just stepped in and looked over from the front seat. "Well, let's get going. It's getting dark, and I don't think you and your boyfriend want to search for Gertie at night."

"Uh he's not my boyfriend," Kim quickly countered, "He's my best friend."

"Huh, your best friend's a boy?"

"Since Pre-K," she smiled proudly.

"Sorry. I just thought you two were together. Too bad, you two would make a mighty fine couple," he remarked, turning to face the road.

Kim answered with her smile becoming uncomfortable, "Huh?…Umm, yeah...Thanks."

As the SUV lurched forward, Ron looked at Kim with the same degree of discomfort and simply shrugged.

Kim contemplated, _"That…really didn't cross my mind until now."_

She noticed that they had inadvertently sat right next to each other in the spacious vehicle. Although it seemed perfectly natural to them, being best friends for years, Mr. Davis' question did make them uneasy. Kim leaned slightly away from Ron, while Ron slowly turned his gaze outside the window. However, a few moments later, she did steal a quick glance, wondering about it for the briefest of moments. She was surprised to find Ron had looked back as well. A short moment of silence had passed between them.

"Awkweird?" they whispered in unison, and broke their passing gazes.

"Jinx!" Kim said suddenly but mutedly, "You owe me a soda!"

"Aww, man. I owe you too many sodas" he replied in an equally hushed tone.

And soon, both of them erupted with a burst of muffled giggles. As soon as the laughter subsided, John said plainly, "Oggie spoke might highly of you."

"Oggie?" Ron asked.

"Yeah, Ogden Paisley, but his friends call him Oggie. Ol' Oggie couldn't stop talking about how you bounced and jumped through his high tech security system. I was thinking of getting a security system myself for my collection. I might have to reconsider."

"Your collection? Oh, that's right, you two know each other because you're 'Cuddlers'," Kim stated.

Ron gave them a strange look and thought himself, _"Never figured a cowboy as a Cuddler…"_

"Yep. I understand that you're one as well."

"Well I'm not sure I'm an official 'Cuddler' but I do have a number at home," Kim admitted, "Pandaroo is my favorite! I have one myself – umm…uh, I mean they're a good investment."

"Yes, they are," John winked, "Besides, the pride o' my collection is also a flamigoat."

"Omigosh! Two flamigoats in my lifetime," she breathed.

"Only ten of them were made," both the redhead and the cowboy declared.

Ron could only sigh in response, as he had nothing to contribute.

------------------

The ride to the ranch house was a short but welcome one. Kim and Ron could have walked to the front door. It was a little distance away but they were tired from the uncomfortable flight accommodations and the chute incident; the additional weight that the gear they packed did not help, either. John drove slowly down the tree-lined road, giving them a chance to see the property. The ranch buildings were at the front of the property and its backyard seemingly stretched to the far mountain range. The house – lodge was a more appropriate description – itself was larger than they first thought. It was a long, wide two-story building with simple architecture embellished with typical western décor; log paneling, wood railing, wagon wheel decorations, western style benches and real wagons. Despite its rustic appearance, they could see many modern refinements: the automatic garage door, motion sensor lighting, and lighted pathways.

------------------

As they pulled up to the house, Ron's eye once again grew as wide as dinner plates. Mr. Davis guided them to the front porch and motioned for one of his ranch hands to take their luggage/gear. Ron was in awe of the whole estate. He had heard of these before but never expected to see one personally, much less spend their time there. His brown orbs took in the sights, his large ears took in the sounds and his nose took notice of the smells, particularly the clean air. Not that Middleton wasn't clean, but it was more natural out here. _"This is probably what Kim felt when she first came to her uncle's ranch,"_ he mused.

Ron found himself wandering into the house, barely following Kim and Mr. Davis. The interior was more interesting than the outside, having more of a "cowboy" like atmosphere. The walls and flooring like the exterior was also wood-paneled. Numerous pictures, some of them historical pictures of the Old West, some of them family photos but most of them of dude ranch activities and visitors, hung all over the walls. Other items joined them: hats, ropes, branding irons, and other western artifacts. Some of the lighting resembled old lanterns, and the furniture even had a distinct "cowboy" look about them. It was like stepping into the Old West.

Ron was so caught up in the atmosphere that he missed much of conversation that Mr. Davis and Kim were having while getting acquainted.

"…and you're both thirteen? I still can't believe that you're that young. Well, as long as your parents say its okay, you're as good as Oggie says and if Oggie trusts you then that's fine with me," the ranch owner smiled. "So let's get settled down, and then y'all can relax."

He led them through one of the main hallways then down a side hallway that ended with a large oaken door. It opened to a room that was very much unlike the rest of the house, at least from what they had seen. It was as if they had stepped into a very different house. "Study" would be the best word to describe this room. Several shelves, all full of books with a multitude of topics, lined the walls. A display case with numerous trophies was off to one side and in the middle of the room was a large desk – like a corporate executive would have – with a computer with dual screens, which was its sole fixture. A large couch faced the desk and Mr. Davis sat himself into a large office chair.

"Have a seat," he offered, taking off his hat and tossing it across the room. It landed squarely on an awaiting coat rack.

"Like it?" he asked the two as they took their places, "Not what you expected from a cowboy, huh?"

Kim and Ron nodded a 'no'.

"Well," he chuckled, "Most of the books are the missus, lord rest her soul, but they're a good read. I'm taking up on Computer Engineering myself. The computer helps me keep a track of past, present, and future visitors, inventory, finances, and web access."

"You sound like our friend, Wade," said Kim.

"Nice fella," John smiled, "A little inquisitive though, but I guess it comes with the territory, seein' he's making sure y'all have a good lead."

"Yes sir."

"So let's get down to business then," the cowboy said, leaning back in his chair, "So, I bet you are wondering why?"

"The thought had crossed my mind. I did – Ow!" Ron exclaimed, rubbing his recently elbowed ribs.

"Ron!" Kim muttered, "Don't interrupt."

"What? I was just answering the question."

"Are you two _sure_ you're not together?" the cowboy questioned.

Both of them blushed brightly.

"Heh. Just joshing ya two," he laughed, "Okay, back to the question. So why don't I hire someone else? Why not a ranch hand or two to find little Gertie?"

They nodded.

"Well, most of my ranch hands are out on one of the biggest cattle drives of the year, which doesn't leave a lot of people back at the ranch. I need all the people I got here seeing that my wife's passed away. My sons are in school. I really didn't want to pull them out of school seeing that they're in California. But the main reason is that Oggie and Mr. McHenry said you two are something special. You two are a team right?"

"Yeah, but Kim does a lot of the work – but I help out. I'm like the sidekick." Ron replied.

"Ron..."

"It's true. I'm not the one who tumbled through the lasers."

"But you're the one who convinced me to go."

Mr. Davis looked at the two. "Not together? Ya could of fooled me…"

"Well," he said, being slightly louder, "Something told Oggie and me that you two, despite being young'ins, should be given a chance. Don't know why, but I gots this feeling...And…" John paused to pull out a copy of the Middleton times. On it was a picture of Kim – Ron was in the background – holding a kitten. She had just rescued the kitten in a tree. Nothing too big but it was newsworthy to be mentioned in the paper. "Oggie forwards me a copy. I've seen you in it several times. I haven't seen Ron but I figure he's got a big part in all of this. So that's why."

Ron looked at Kim, smiling a "I told you so."

"Wow!" Kim gushed, "I don't know what to say."

"Think nothing of it. So, ya still up for it?"

"You bet!" they said at the same time.

"Jinx!" Kim proclaimed, "You owe me a soda!"

"Aww man, again?" he replied dejectedly.

The cowboy smiled. He then pushed back from his desk, opened a drawer and pulled out a checkbook. "So how much do you charge?"

"Charge? As in a fee?" Kim questioned.

"Yes, ma'am", John answered, his pen hovering over a check.

Kim's mind raced. _"I did start the website to get more babysitting offers but I dunno. I mean I could use the cash but I don't think it's right to charge someone asking for help. I didn't charge Mr. Paisley, Mr. McHenry, or the others and it wouldn't be fair to Mr. Davis."_

Ron looked at his best friend. _"We could use the fundage. I mean, I wouldn't mind getting a few more things and we could grande size stuff more often and we could go to premiere movie showings…Wait…Kim hasn't said yes..."_

"Miss Possible?" the cowboy asked.

She drew in a deep breath. "No charge, Mr. Davis. No charge at all."

The cowboy's writing instrument dropped.

"_What?"_ Ron's mind exclaimed.

"Are you sure?" asked the ranch owner.

"We're just here to help. It's what we do. Besides, we do this because we like helping out and not for the money," she said happily.

Ron gazed at Kim. _"Yeah, I guess she's right – but it wouldn't hurt to splurge once in a while…"_

"Well I'll be. Oggie said that you didn't charge him either but I didn't believe it. I was right; you two are something special, especially with that good attitude."

Kim's cheeks turned a bright crimson. Ron smiled.

John put the checkbook back in the drawer. "Well, at least let me give ya room and board, my ranch is one of the finest in this part of the state. Plus Rachael's a mighty fine cook and she's making her specialty steak, Rachael's Rodeo Ribeye tonight. Think of it as a favor." John stuck his hand out.

"Favor. I like the sound of that," replied the redhead as she shook his hand. "It's a deal, John. And you can call me, Kim."

"Good," he added, shaking Ron's hand, "Gimme me a few minutes to get everything all set up. You two can wash up in the water closet down the hall to the right.

To be continued…

-------------------

Chapter End Notes: I had to explain how this all got started. It took me a little while to clear up some of the missing details in the series. I hope this made a plausible explanation to that as well as the money issue. I'm placing this story west-northwest of Great Falls, Montana, close to the Cascade Mountain Range. The Lazy C (Uncle Slim's Ranch) is North-Northeast of Great Falls.


	6. Morning on the Range

Legal Disclaimer: Disney owns Kim Possible; not me I just write about them. But...ah never mind. Ugh, want to rant but shouldn't.

Thanks to Ran Hakubi, Akinyi, CajunBear73, and LTAOZFAN for reviewing.

-------------------

**Second Mission, Second Thoughts**

**Chapter 6: Morning on the Range**

Surprisingly, Ron was up first and well into his shower when Kim awoke. She was taken aback to see that the cot Ron slept in was made, and their freshly washed and folded mission clothes were laid atop of it. It then dawned on her that Mr. Davis offered to have them laundered and ready for breakfast. She reasoned that the maid had come and cleaned up a little. The thought of someone seeing her sleep was embarrassing; particularly when Ron told her she had a tendency to snore. She was further embarrassed by the sight of a showering naked mole rat in the sink and even further when she almost bumped into a towel-only clad Ron. Kim decided to get showered quickly to avoid any further mortification.

She stepped behind the privacy screen, with Ron turning away politely in time, and dressed quickly. Ron sat on the bed and pored over the breakfast flyer. The red-haired teen was suited, combed her hair and put it up. She was about to reappear when she stopped and focused on one element of her appearance; her ponytail.

"…_and you're both thirteen? I still can't believe that you're that young…"_ recalling the conversation from the night before. She looked at her "uniform" and then her ponytail again.

"…_and you're both thirteen? I still can't believe that you're that young…"_ again, the memory sounded.

"Maybe…maybe it's time for a change…something not so 'thirteen-ish'" she muttered.

Since first grade, Kim had worn her hair in a ponytail. It helped her when she first started kung fu and it was just easier to deal with in general. Taking her pony tail and stroking it gingerly, she muttered, _"Maybe something a little more sophisticated…"_ With brush in hand, slowly, she reached for the scrunchie that kept it in place and hesitantly pulled it off.

"Hey KP, they have huevos rancheros del davis! Sounds like a Bueno Nacho di––"

Ron's jaw dropped.

He had turned to see Kim stepping from behind the privacy screen, gently shaking her head from side to side, letting her now-free hair flow. As Ron watched – no stared – at Kim's beautiful red mane, time seemed to slow down.

"What was that Ron?" she asked combing out her hair. She hadn't noticed her best friend's expression.

"Uh…I…that is...uh ehh…you…wow," he stuttered.

"Huh?"

"Hair…" was all he could say.

"Hair? Ron! I just let my hair down. It's no big really."

"But, but it looks really really nice – makes you look pretty – er prettier. Not that you aren't pretty to begin with but it makes you look prettier."

"Really?" she blushed, looking shyly at her best friend.

"Yeah…" Ron said, letting his gaze hang a little longer than needed.

Rufus, who had witnessed Ron's reaction to Kim, looked back and forth between the two. "Hoo boy," he squeaked, slapping his forehead.

Suddenly, Ron realized that they both were staring at each other. And so did Kim.

"So…." Ron said, looking at his feet.

"So…." Kim said, gazing off to one side.

"Breakfast?" Ron asked.

"Sounds good to me." Kim hastily replied.

With that the teens rushed down stairs.

------------------

Unfortunately for Kim, breakfast was much like the night before where Ron and Rufus literally shoveled down mounds of food. Kim could do nothing but watch the spectacle in silence. Despite having known him for eight years, she still wondered three things: one, how Ron could eat like that and not put on any appreciable weight; two, if the food that Rufus was eating was any good for him; and three, why she kept watching the two, especially Ron. Viewing him eat was, in a way sickening, but one really couldn't turn away. Kim was used to it but that was pretty much between them, their families, and Bueno Nacho. Plus, Ron didn't always eat like this. There were many times where he ate like a perfect gentleman, especially around the holidays or people they didn't really know. This was an unusual circumstance. As a result, Kim didn't have much of an appetite but ate anyway because she needed to. They would be out on the trail soon.

"So umm does your friend always eat like that?" John asked, his voice tinged with disbelief.

"Only when the food's this good and there's plenty of it, sir," Ron managed to say in-between bites and without choking.

"I'm glad you appreciate Rachael's cuisine," The cowboy laughed then turned to a thin, fair skinned woman and with brown long hair dressed in a tee shirt and jeans, sitting next to him. "Ya think there's enough to go around after this boy's done?"

Rachael, who was also in a daze at this young man's appetite, replied, "Yeah…just give me…thirty minutes…to…whip up something."

------------------

As the meal came to a close, Rachael collapsed in her chair and blew a few strands from her face. "Boy, that kid can eat! First, last night and then at breakfast," she mumbled.

With the dishes put away and the table cleared, John sat back at the table. "So y'all ready to start?"

"Yes, we just need a few things and we're ready to go."

"Ya better dress warmly, it might not be raining but it's cold out there," suggested the cowboy.

"Could I get a couple of these omelets, like, to go?" Ron asked.

Kim and Rachael looked at Ron incredulously. "What? These omelets were badical. Plus, there's no Bueno Nacho out there."

"Uh, sure," she replied, "…Wait, did you say Bueno Nacho?"

"Yeah," the blonde answered, wiping his face.

"I LOVE Bueno Nacho!" Rachael beamed.

"Really? So do I!"

"Yeah, they make a mean chimmerito!"

Kim turned back to John and asked, "So, how long has Gertie been missing?"

"About five days. Last we saw her; she was with the herd over by the west ridge. We'd have noticed her being gone sooner but this cattle drive has really kept us busy. I was thinking of tagging my cows down the line…She could be in the foothills to the west."

"Any foul play?"

"I don't think so. I didn't get a ransom note or anything. I don't know anyone that would want to hurt the ranch."

"I'll need to know where the herd was last when Gertie disappeared. We'll also need a ride in and out of there."

"Well, I can show you the trail on a map in the study. Seeing that you're too young to drive, can you ride a horse?"

Kim smiled but Ron winced.

------------------

Kim and Ron's horses plodded along the grassy north Montana plains. The back country was scenic. The view from the parachutes was one thing; this was another. Being at the beginning of April, it was still very cold and cloudy, and to the far north, dark clouds moved ever eastward, dumping its moisture near the Canadian border. Rain wasn't forecasted in their part of the state, but they could hear the distant rumble of the not-so-distant thunderstorm. The winds didn't howl; only whispered and rustled the leaves of the scattered trees. The northwestern plains were a sea of tall green grasses with the winds causing wave-like ripples. Wildflowers were in bloom and danced with the wind. The last bits of snow remained at the highest points of the Cascades. One would say that the relative placidity would be soothing.

Unfortunately, this didn't help Kim's troubled mood.

------------------

"_What's the sitch, Possible?"_ she asked herself internally, _"You've had this weird feeling since yesterday whenever you and Ron are close together. But…it hasn't bothered you before but – something's different…It's almost…like…I'm…crushing on him?!? No, no, no! I __**can't**__ be crushing on him – he's Ron – my best friend. That would be just…awkweird!"_

Drawing in a deep breath, she continued, _"Even if I did, wouldn't that ruin our friendship? I don't want to lose that; he's my best friend...Besides I don't think he's ready for a girlfriend yet – he still kind of acts like kid."_

Kim looked back at the object of her private discussion and saw him laughing with Rufus – who had been riding in Ron's warm jacket vest pocket – as he pointed out funny shaped clouds.

"_But…that's part of his charm isn't it? And he's kind, loyal, and funny. He knows when I stress out and helps me chill…and I help him in school. It's like we…complement each other. And he cares about me…a lot. Do you think anyone else would have stuck up for you like that? Do you think anyone else would come out here? Ron did and that means a lot especially since he's afraid of a lot of things."_

Then, almost if someone had heard her, Ron started screaming "Aaaaah, monkey! That one looks like a monkey!" and covered his whole head with both arms. He whimpered as his horse carried on unaffected by the cries of his rider. A few seconds later, peeking out between his arms, he exclaimed, "It's still there! Bad monkey! Ohhhh!"

Kim slapped her forehead.

Then, a few more seconds later, she heard, "Huh? Oh yeah, you're right Rufus, it's gone now. No monkey there! Hah!"

The red-haired teen looked back again to her blonde-haired friend. He gave her a goofy smile and a timid wave.

"Though, he is, in way, cute; with that smile and those freckles...Wait, did I just think Ron was cute?" 

She closed her eyes and shook her head again, _"Maybe it's something that I didn't – No, its gotta be the mission…And being out here with him...alone. This is all so…confusing. Me and Ron? I…just…don't know."_

"I really don't know"

"What?"

"I said I don't––" she exclaimed but cut herself off realizing that the last part of her train of thought was spoken aloud.

"Don't what KP?" Ron asked, bringing his horse close to hers.

"Err...I…don't know…where to…start. Yeah, start…I don't where to start looking…for Gertie."

"Well, we're in the right place, right?" Ron pulled his horse off to one side and stopped to survey the land. Rufus, trying to keep his hairless body warm, braved the cold and poked his head out, copying his human's actions. He looked up to Ron with his small, black eyes and then chirped, "Uh huh, uh huh, right place!" He quickly retreated back to the comfort of Ron's pocket.

"Looks like it." Kim replied looking around. Unexpectedly, her emerald orbs came to rest on her best friend. _"Cute…"_ echoed softly in her mind but Kim uttered a very low grunt in response. _"Focus, Possible."_

"KP?"

"WHAT?" she snapped.

Ron looked as his best friend strangely but quickly dismissed it as mission frustration.

"So, where do we start looking? I mean, this is not going to be as easy like back in Middleton. Look at how big this place is." Ron extended his arms to emphasize the point. Just then, his horse unexpectedly dipped causing Ron to lose his balance and spill onto the ground. Kim quickly dismounted her horse and rushed to where Ron had fallen. "You okay?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said rubbing his head, "And you wonder why I have horse issues. Rufus?"

The naked mole rat had leaped to the side at the first sign of falling, was also on the ground close to his human. He dusted himself off and scrambled back to his nice warm pocket. He stuck his hand out and signaled a naked mole rat version of a thumbs-up.

"But you were riding one and doing well at that."

"Thanks. Well, at least Calvin isn't a mechanical horse …" Ron visibly shuddered.

"Ron…" Kim muttered, "It was broken and – never mind. Let's just get you back on that horse and – tire tracks!"

"Tire tracks? Where?"

"You're practically standing in them," she said pointing to the set right next to Ron. "That must have been why your horse threw you."

Kim stared at the marks before her. The long grasses made it difficult to see and if it weren't for Ron, they would have missed them. Studying the ground intensely, she saw that the tracks lead northward but soon disappeared as they hit rocky ground. Kim pulled out her Kimmunicator and hit the quick dial button to the team's tech genius and soon Wade's face was on screen. "Hey Kim! How's life on the range?" he asked, and then taking a sip from his soda.

"Good so far. We spotted some tire tracks. Do you know if there's any traffic out here?"

The young computer genius/techie did his trademark magic and within moments, Wade looked up. "Well according to Mr. Davis' itinerary, there's no note of any vehicles. In fact, he doesn't use vehicles on cattle drives. Hasn't for years."

"Hmmm, are there any other places around here that might have vehicles?"

Once again, Wade stared into his computer screen, typing furiously but briefly. "Nope, it's pretty empty out here. Could be the occasional off-roader but let me look at the tire tracks. I got something I wanna try. Point the Kimmunicator at the tracks."

Kim did as instructed and a pale blue cone of light illuminated the tracks for a few seconds.

"Badical, ya put a scanner in the Kimmunicator," Ron exclaimed, "Scan on Demand!"

"Not exactly but close," Wade replied as he watched the data stream in, "The Kimmunicator is too small for a sophisticated scanner so I built a simple full spectrum emitter and rudimentary receiver that transmits the data to my mainframes here. I can process the data and send the results back to you. It can take a while though"

"Umm okay. So…could you go over it again in case Kim here didn't understand?" Ron grinned sheepishly.

Ron received eye rolls from the two other members of the team.

The tech guru sighed. "I can scan stuff from here using the Kimmunicator, like a probe, and I linked it to my computers here."

"Probe? Oh! Like a space probe on 'Captain Constellation'. We can't send the whole ship but we can send a probe, get a sample, and send what it finds back to the ship, right?"

"You got it," Wade replied.

"Booyah! The Ronster comes through."

"Nice Ron," Kim smiled, "More mad skills?"

"Oh yeah KP, I'm full of mad ski––"

"Sorry to interrupt guys, but I just got the results back," Wade interjected, "It's not a typical off road vehicle track and it's too small for a personal vehicle. This track is more of a large flatbed or cargo vehicle."

"Out here?" Ron asked.

"It's possible. The places out here need stuff trucked out to them but…" Wade paused to enter more data, "The last one was about two weeks ago. Mr. Cutter's is the next scheduled shipment but he isn't scheduled to start delivery until this afternoon. These tracks are about five to six days old."

"Wade, could these trucks carry animals?" Kim questioned.

"Hmm. I see where you're going with this." Wade returned to his keyboard and within in a minute, "Several other ranches are reporting missing animals. Which means––"

"Cattle rustlers," both Kim and Ron answered.

To be continued…

-------------------

Chapter End Notes: Yep, this rescue mission just got more complicated. Kim's got some internal struggles as well as trying to figure out what's going on. They've found some clues and it looks like they may have found out the answer to the mystery. The teen pair have an idea but who's behind it all? You'll have to wait until the next chapter...


	7. The Hideout

Legal Stuff: Just a reminder, Disney owns Kim Possible; not me. To paraphrase Kim, "I don't but I wanted to".

Thanks to Ran Hakubi and CajunBear73 for reviewing.

-------------------

**Second Mission, Second Thoughts**

**Chapter 7: The Hideout **

Kim was most happy that they had something to go on, smiling as her horse, Hobbes, walked ever northward. Thanks to Wade, they had a good solid lead; a small canyon in the northwest foothills. In it, the computer genius discovered was an old, out-of-the-way ranch that had been abandoned for almost fifty years.

Ron, however, was very quiet, with a most prominent frown clinging onto his face. Mimicking him was his non-human best friend, Rufus, sitting on his shoulder.

"Cheer up, Ron; you'll get it one of these days," his red-haired best friend stated.

Ron only huffed and turned slightly away. Rufus shadowed his human.

"Ron…" Kim continued, moving her horse closer.

Abruptly, Ron shot a look to her and uttered, "One of these days, I will get the 'jinx' and it will be you, owing the soda!"

Ron gave her a serious stare but after a few moments, that quickly changed to his goofy trademark grin. A few more moments later, it became a giggle. Kim chuckled in response. "Well, you better start winning a lot of jinxes, then."

"Yeah," he laughed.

Suddenly, Kim held her hand up signaling 'stop'. "We're here." She said in a hushed tone.

Kim then motioned for Ron to follow her to a small rock outcropping. "We'll keep our horses back here. I want a closer look."

"'K" he replied but thought, _"Kim's 'serious mode'"_.

------------------

Soon, after hitching the horses, they crawled up a small hill overlooking the marauders' ranch. "Facility" was a more accurate word. Both teens pulled out a set of binoculars, scanning the entire complex. The area was cleared and fenced off by a makeshift wooden fence laced with barbwire. Within the fence, was an old two-story ranch house with a large porch. It was a large, simple structure but it showed its age. Still there was evidence that it had been worked on; holes in the roof and on the walls were patched and windows were repaired. A large garage, equipment shed, a couple of generators, and a sizable corral with over two dozen cows accompanied the large abode. A couple of pickup trucks and two large cargo trucks were parked just outside the garage. The whole place was well hidden, being obscured by the surrounding hills, the low canyon walls and numerous rock outcroppings.

"This has 'hideout' written all over it," Ron stated, "But I don't see––"

"Shh! Trying to be sneaky!"

"From who? There's nobody around here," he questioned, rising to a kneeling position to get a better view.

"Ron!" she hissed, pulling her best friend down by his shirt, "we should be quiet, anyways!"

"Kimila," Ron retorted, straightening and dusting off his mission shirt, "I'm pretty sure Gertie's here. We found the place and should call someone like the police or sheriff on this."

Kim eyed Ron icily: 'Kimila' was not currently a term of endearment. "We haven't found Gertie yet and I want to make sure we've found her. We can't just go back to John and tell him we "think" we found her. We need proof!" the red-haired teen huffed, and returned to watching the hideout.

Ron rolled to his side and pulled back slightly, staring at his best friend. "Aren't we getting in over our heads? I mean, what if they have guns or something like that? Look at this place: this is a big operation; it isn't like back home. Kim, it's not just a 'simple' rescue anymore."

Kim sat up. "So, what do you want me to do? Give up and go home? You said yourself, 'we can do this'," ending her statement by crossing her arms angrily. Ron looked at her but she turned away. He could have sworn that he saw a tear form in his best friend's eye. _"Kim's right: she can do this…but I just don't want her to get hurt – and I just hurt her feelings." _

Ron drew in a deep breath. "You're right. We can do this," he admitted.

"Really?" she sniffed, trying not to reveal that she did indeed cry.

"Yeah," he smiled, "and if you can tumble through a whole bunch of lasers without even a scratch, then, this should be a piece of cake. We just gotta be careful."

The red-haired teen looked at her best friend and slowly, a smile formed on her face. "Thanks, Ron," she whispered.

"So…how are we going to do this? – 'cause, uh, I got uh nuthin'," he shrugged.

Kim's gaze shifted from Ron to the complex. After scrutinizing the area, she returned back to Ron. "We'll go in, free the cattle, and make a run for the ranch. Once we're clear, we'll call in the police."

"Yeah, free the cattle…Uh, KP, how do we do that with the cattle ya'know?"

"We'll use the horses to drive them. I've done it before on my uncle Slim's ranch."

"Cool! We get to be cowboys!" he grinned. Then, it faded as a new thought entered his mind, "Wait, when did you do this?"

Kim bit her lower lip. "When you went to Camp––"

"Wannaweep," Ron finished, gulping a small amount of rising bile, "Ohhhhh, Wannaweep…"

Beep beep BEEP Beep.

Both of them looked at each other and then for the source of the sound; it was the Kimmunicator. It chimed again as Kim pulled out the gadget. She was thankful that the ring was set on its lowest setting.

"Interesting ring tone. Simple, yet catchy," Ron remarked.

Kim shot Ron a sideways glance. "Wade?"

"Hey, Kim. I was doing some digging around and found out more about that place. From the data gathered from the tire tracks and soils samples, I've traced the purchase of a large cargo truck to a Dwight Thomas Stone; he's a small businessman from Salt Lake City, Utah."

"What? How did you know about that?"

"Umm…I-I equipped your binoculars with built-in video feeds. I can see everything you guys can with the binoculars."

Ron took his binoculars and waved at them. "Hi, Wade!"

"Waaade…" Kim uttered with an annoyed tone.

"Sorry," the computer geek grinned sheepishly, "I was going to tell you."

Kim uttered a low growl. "So, what happened to Mr. Stone?"

"He went back to Salt Lake City, made the purchases, and then went missing after about three weeks. He doesn't have any sort of criminal record but Utah police are looking for him. Get this – he was on the last cattle drive at the Davis Ranch before you got there…I'm pretty sure they're linked, but I'm not sure how."

"I have a feeling that we'll find out real soon. Wade, I'm going to need the 411 on the ranch: people, equipment, anything we need to know."

He turned to his keyboard and started working his techie 'magic'. "Hmm, the Kimmunicator has limited range of three feet so we can't use that. I could hac – er access, a local satellite to get an infrared image, extrapolate the thermographs to account for a human signatures and – "

"In plain speak, please and thank you."

Wade smiled shyly and replied, "Sorry. I can scan for heat signatures but it'll take some time. Getting into a satellite isn't real easy, but I can do it. Give me some time, it wouldn't be long."

------------------

Despite it taking twenty minutes to access the orbital platform, it took the computer genius an hour to process the data. Wade reported that there were seven people total in the camp. Kim opted to wait until late afternoon, using the lower light conditions to their advantage. She had wished, however, that Wade had included night vision optics with their equipment.

------------------

As they crouched behind a large rock near the entrance, Kim asked, "Are you sure you're up to this, Ron?"

"Yeah, ready as I'll ever be," he replied.

"All right. I'll go first and then you follow me when I give the signal."

"Right." Ron smiled to himself. One of the things he could do well was move quickly and quietly with Kim.

She was about to sprint to the next nearby rock when she spied movement in the main building. Instinctively, Kim signaled for them to hold completely still and try to move out of sight. Ducking behind the current rock, they peered behind it, and watched.

One of the cattle thieves, dressed in a traditional cowboy outfit – right down to the ten-gallon hat, strolled out the door and sat on the porch. From what they could see, he wasn't very old, in fact, he didn't look much older than they were. He took off his hat, tossed it angrily to one side and cursed, "Stupid hat!"

Leaning back, he casually lighted a cigarette. After a few puffs of smoke, he scanned the surrounding area and stopped – right at the rocks that Kim and Ron hid behind.

Kim and Ron froze as the rustler leaned forward, trying to get a better look. He moved to get up when a voiced called out, "Troy!"

He whirled back towards the house. "Out here, Gabe. Can't you see I'm on a smoke break?" he huffed.

"Put that thing out and get you butt in here," Gabe ordered as he stepped out onto the deck. He was Asian, the same age as Troy, with black wavy hair that spilled out from underneath his hat. "Chad and Tyler need help with the winch and seeing that you're the only mechanic––"

"Hey, you're not the boss of me!" Troy shot out breathing out a stream of tobacco vapor in his general direction.

Gabe waved off the offending cloud. "No, Mr. Stone is! And that comes from Mr. Stone! So get in there and don't forget your hat!"

Troy snorted, took one more puff, and flicked his cigarette in Kim and Ron's direction. "Yeah, yeah, yeah as long as I get paid… " he replied, picking up his hat.

"Hey, Mr. Stone pays very well," Gabe replied as he closed the door behind Troy.

------------------

Kim and Ron sat there for a few minutes after the door had closed. "Weird – really weird," Kim muttered under her breath. "Let's go," Kim voiced.

"S-s-sure."

Kim shot Ron a look. He was visibly shaken, but managed a weak smile. "Are you okay?"

"Y-y-yeah, just fine. That was just a little too close."

She could sense Ron's nervousness a mile away. "Are you sure you want to come? I can try to go it alone."

Ron's demeanor changed instantly. "No," he said rather adamantly, "We do this together."

"_Yes, we will," _she thought. "Okay then, follow me"

------------------

After half an hour, the teens managed to get as close as they could to the cattle pen without being noticed, darting quickly between the various rocks that surrounded the abandoned ranch. However, to her dismay, Kim noticed that there was nothing to hide behind if she needed to get to the gate, and it was at least a good fifty feet away. The red-haired teen scanned the horizon; the sun was beginning to dip behind the mountain and soon it would be night.

"_I'd better do this now before it gets too dark. So not driving the cattle at night,"_ she thought to herself. "Ron, I'm going to try to open the gate and set the cattle free. You go get the horses ready so we can get out as fast as we can."

"KP, I – " Ron stopped himself. A mass of emotions welled up inside of him with concern being the most prevalent. There was something else, but he kept that safely bottled away.

"Ron?" Kim was genuinely puzzled. She could see the worry on his face but there was something else she couldn't quite read.

"Be careful," he said putting his hand on her shoulder.

Kim put her hand over his. "You, too."

Then both hands went back to their respective owners. The red-haired teen dashed for the gate as the blonde watched. Slowly, he started his way back to the horses.

------------------

The lock wasn't a complex lock, but Kim lacked the tools to pick it – if she knew how. "This is taking too long." she muttered.

It was difficult to locate anything of use out here, seeing that the sun had almost set. Kim looked frantically for anything she could use to open the lock. The cattle must have sensed her frustration, as they were getting more and restless. Then, she saw something not too far away: a horseshoe. She could use that to break the lock.

Suddenly, the house lights came to life illuminating the area.

"I thought I saw something," a not-to-familiar voice uttered.

Kim froze, not because of the sound of the rustler's voice but what accompanied it: the clicking of a gun.

To be continued…

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Chapter End Notes: What: only guns? No weird high tech death rays, gravitronic emitters and whatnot? Read on and you'll see.


	8. Ruckus

Legalese: Yes, I have to say it – Disney owns Kim Possible. Don't make me repeat it.

Thanks to Ran Hakubi, CajunBear73, and MrDrP for reviewing.

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**Second Mission, Second Thoughts**

Chapter 8: Ruckus 

"Turn around so's I can see you," commanded the rustler.

Kim gulped. She was trapped and scolded herself internally for leaving something that could be useful on Hobbes. The horseshoe was ever so close but she didn't know how far he was, or how good of a shot the cattle thief was.

Seeing that there was no other course of action, she slowly turned towards him. It was Troy. She gauged the distance to be thirty feet; martial arts would not help her at that distance, especially with a gun pointed at her.

"What the?" said the shocked rustler, "You're just a girl! And a pretty one at that!" He looked her over and remarked with a chuckle, "Looks like I might get me a bonus…"

If she had met this guy in some other place, Kim would have thought of him as a nice looking guy with short brown hair and aqua blue eyes, but his demeanor and lecherous grin quickly dismissed that notion.

"Get over here!" Troy ordered, waving a rather large, older style, revolver, but it wasn't the weapon that worried her – he held it sort of clumsily – it was his sinister laugh, "C'mon, pick it up. I don't have all night!"

She moved slowly and as the redhead shuffled towards him, sadness, not fear, washed over her. _"It's over. Our second mission and it's over. We did all this and – RON! Did he make it out? If they did something to you, Ron, I'd never forgive myself."_

As Kim neared Troy, more and more thoughts flooded her mind until they blurred together. "Oh, Ron…" she uttered softly.

"Ron? Who's R – "

A blur of gray and black suddenly appeared between them.

"Ron?" Kim's mind asked.

Troy was so stunned by the blonde's appearance, he couldn't do anything but stand there.

Ron, on the other handed, acted. He was holding a long wood stick at one end with both hands – like a samurai held a katana. An instant later, he swung the stick downward, swatting the gun to the ground. Troy howled in pain and clutched his hand where the gun once was. He stumbled to grab the fallen weapon but in a swift, measured motion, Ron flicked the revolver away. It sailed across the yard, landing near the vehicles, where it discharged with a loud boom. The rustler scrambled to get up, but Ron swung low, tripping him. He fell backwards, landing hard and did not get back up.

------------------

All this time, Ron had a look in his eyes Kim never saw before, and it almost made her recoil.

"Ron?" she shouted.

In an instant, the look vanished, "Kim?"

An instant later, it was replaced with his familiar expression. "Kim!" he exclaimed with a large grin.

But then the grin faded and was replaced by a look of fear. "Kim! Behind you!"

She whirled around to find four rustlers, two of them armed with similar guns, who had just filed out of the old ranch house. They had a distinct look of confusion and shock, trying to sort out what was going on, especially since they had just heard a gunshot. As they turned to see the source of the ruckus, they were surprised to see a teenaged redhead executing a flying kick at them. They were so thrown off guard that they did nothing until her attack connected with the lead cattle thief's chest, sending all four crashing backwards. Hats and guns went flying. Kim, using the impact as a springboard, tumbled off and landed near one of the guns. A foot sweep knocked one of the revolvers well out of reach. The other was knocked away as Kim tumbled towards it and kicked it.

She blinked as she realized what she just did, taking on four armed opponents without hesitation.

"Way to go, KP!" he cheered, after witnessing her martial arts display.

"Thanks, Ron, I – Look out!"

The blonde turned around to see another rustler, Gabe, walking towards him with what looked to be a cattle prod the size of a baton. Small sparks of electricity danced on its tip. Instead of the impressive display that was witnessed earlier, Ron dropped his stick and took off, screaming. He took two steps, when his feet betrayed him, sending him to the ground – he had lost his footing and landed on Troy. The blue-hued weapon sailed over Ron as he hit the ground – the fall had saved him from that attack. Gabe retracted the weapon, and thrust it downward, hoping to strike the hapless teen. It missed Ron and struck the downed cattle thief as the blonde scrambled away. His unintended target jerked as it discharged.

The armed rustler looked down, quickly pulling back the pole and sheepishly grinned, "Sorry about that, Troy."

------------------

Kim wanted to help Ron but she heard two of her opponents struggle to their feet.

"Fancy that," one of them muttered, "the girl knows kung fu. Well, girlie, so do I!"

"You want back up, Chad?" the other cattle thief asked, grabbing a stick.

"Are you kidding me, Tyler? This will be a piece of cake," Chad replied and assumed a basic fighting stance, his knees slightly bent.

"C'mon, let's see what you can do," and beckoned her with one hand.

"_Oh, you'd be surprised,"_ she thought. Kim gritted her teeth as she took a basic stance and then charged in. As Kim neared her opponent, she saw him draw his arms back slightly, readying for a straight strike. "He's giving himself away?" she self-questioned as she closed the gap.

At the last instant, she twisted to one side and sidestepped his forward thrust. The redhead came in, batting Chad's outstretched arm out of the way, and followed in with two quick jabs to the chest. Chad lost his breath from the blow and tumbled backwards. But that was not the end of the fight.

He threw himself further backwards, using the momentum to roll out of the way, briefly landing on his hands. In the process, he kicked high and wide as a defensive measure. Kim rolled to one side, barely avoiding the blow. Flowing with the rolling motion, Chad cart wheeled away, landing on both feet and assumed the same fighting stance. "Ya like that?" he jeered.

"_So he's got a few more moves. C'mon Possible, you can do this." _

She looked him over for a second, reassessing the situation. Then she grinned. She took a different stance – a much different stance. The smug expression on Chad's face melted away and a shiver crept up his spine. "What is that? A different style?"

The red-haired teen's face gave away a slight smile as she weaved in. She could see that changing styles caused him to drop his guard just enough for her to get in and land an attack or two. Kim struck high and then low with a series of quick jabs. Her opponent staggered as she moved behind him and used a snap kick to the shoulder. Chad threw up an arm to block the side strike but all it served was to lessen the blow. Chad spun to face Kim only to have her come in again. This time he was able to parry off an incoming fist. He returned her attack with one of his own but only scored a glancing blow. Kim rolled off to the side but snapped back with a strong palm thrust that sent Chad stumbling backwards, then to the ground.

"You need help, now?" Tyler asked mockingly.

Chad wiped the sweat from his brow, "Now would be nice!"

"All right, I'm going to bop you something fierce!" Tyler said as he squeezed his baton and bolts sparked from its tip.

------------------

Rufus was not content sitting where he was – back at the last rock outcropping. Acting as a 'tail gunner', he watched as Kim had made her way to the gate as his human made his way back to the horses. When Rufus saw Kim in trouble, he alerted Ron. The moment after realizing that Kim was in trouble, Ron acted, and in one swift motion, deposited Rufus quickly but gently atop a nearby boulder and dashed to the rescue. The naked mole rat blinked, he had never seen his human move that fast. After a second of standing there, the hairless mammal assessed the situation. Things were becoming nasty; Kim was fighting two guys at once, a human with a glowing stick was chasing Ron, and the cattle was still caged. Rufus had to do something. He took a second to make sure the coast was clear, and then bolted for the pen's gate.

------------------

Ron sprinted in a wide arc away from the cattle prod wielding rustler, trying to head back towards Kim, but Gabe forced him towards the garage. He would have to figure some way back to Kim. Frantically, he knocked everything he could down to the ground, hoping to slow his pursuer as he ran. His efforts did help, and with Ron's fear-induced speed, widened the gap by a fair distance. Still, even though he had lost the blonde intruder, Gabe followed as best as he could, with prod in hand.

"Oh man, how did I get myself into this?" Ron moaned as neared the garage.

He threw aside a trashcan and uttered, "All we were supposed to do was find a lost cow."

Ron hoped that the garage either had something he could use or offer a place to hide. He looked about wildly; he didn't see his pursuer but knew he was coming; the glow of the cattle prod gave him away. Then, he spied something – rope hanging off a fence post and grabbed it. "Maybe I can rope that guy…" he muttered as fumbled with the hemp cord.

Gabe spotted Ron and bolted towards him. Drawing in a deep breath, Ron stood his ground but as Gabe closed the gap, the blonde saw the cattle prod. He lost his nerve, uttering, "Aw, who am I kidding?"

Ron threw the rope in the rustler's direction and tore off in the opposite direction, screaming. Gabe saw the mass of rope but was moving too fast to stop. It landed on top of him, catching one of his legs and tripped him. Gabe fell to the ground but was forced into a roll, induced by his forward momentum. His tumbling only lasted a few seconds, but as Gabe stopped, he jerked suddenly and howled as the cattle prod discharged. The screaming soon stopped, as did Gabe's thrashing.

The blonde stopped and turned around as soon as he heard his pursuer cry out. Ron saw a tangled mess of rope and rustler. He stood there for a moment, drew in a deep breath and loosed a hearty "Booyah! The Rondo came to play!"

Then, suddenly he felt a draft – his legs were cold. The blonde teen looked down to find the source of this coldness and saw that his new pants had fallen. "Aw, man," he remarked, as he pulled them up, "Must have bought them a size too big. Man, am I lucky that no one was around to see this. Now, _that_ would have been embarrassing."

After fixing his wardrobe malfunction, Ron considered a victory dance but a realization quickly came to mind and he stopped himself. "Kim!" he shouted and bolted towards his best friend.

------------------

Kim back flipped away from Tyler and was far enough to safely assess the field conditions. Tyler was still advancing, albeit at a slow, careful pace as if he wanted to drive her away. He hadn't landed a blow but held his weapon menacingly. Chad was now back on his feet but stood still. He was breathing deeply trying to shake off Kim's latest round of martial arts. To make things more difficult for her, the two rustlers that were downed from her initial attack were starting to get up. "This is not good," she muttered.

The red-haired teen fought against an opponent before but it was always under controlled conditions being within a dojo and against a fellow student. This was different; it was in a strange place, she was fighting against four people and this was her first real fight. To make matters worse, Kim was getting tired and didn't know how much longer she could hold out. She needed a way out of this or at the very least, a way to better the odds. What she needed was a plan and for that she needed time to formulate it. _"Hope this works again,"_ she prayed.

Drawing in a deep breath, she assumed a new fighting stance and started to move in a wide circle towards the ranch house. Tyler stopped, narrowed his eyes and then uttered, "What's a matter? Scared?" he jeered.

Kim took a couple more steps to one side. "Just getting started," the redhead retorted.

"Right," he shot back and charged in.

------------------

As Ron rounded the corner, he witnessed the fight. One rustler rushed towards his best friend, another was starting to move towards her and two more cattle thieves were getting to their feet. "Gotta do something," he said to himself, "But what?"

The blonde glared at the two guys moving toward Kim and then to the two sandy-haired rustlers closer to him. Seeing that they hadn't noticed him just yet, he muttered, "Maybe…I can distract these guys."

Reaching for the nearest thing to him – a broomstick – Ron grabbed it firmly and waved it vigorously. "Hey! Hey! Why don't you take me on?" he shouted just loud enough for them to hear.

Both rustlers turned in his direction, looked to where Kim was and then to each other. They nodded to each, took out their cattle prods and started in his direction.

"Hey, it worked!" he smiled.

Then it hit him. "It worked," he said, with his smile replaced with fearful expression, "It worked? Ohhhh!"

Ron dropped his weapon and started to inch backward. The blonde rustlers moved closer then, abruptly stopped. Ron also stopped and a puzzled look formed on his face. Suddenly; a rough hemp loop dropped out of the sky and landed on him. Before he could react, the rope jerked back, tightened, and pulled him to the ground. The impact forced the air out of his lungs.

------------------

Kim was too focused on Tyler to see what had just happened to Ron. She watched Tyler coming and slowly moved to one side, maintaining her stance. Tyler unimpressed by Kim's change in tactics, rushed in. He swung high and wide, leaving an electrical arc that missed Kim by a long shot. Chad witnessed what had happened to the blonde intruder but didn't act on it. Instead, he started to jog towards Tyler and the red-haired intruder.

Kim saw Chad moving as she arched away from another attack. Then she saw it: a plan. It was a risky one but it was all she had.

She avoided the last attack, scooted to one side, placing herself between Chad and Tyler. Tyler saw her move and smiled. "Big mistake," he taunted as he swung down. This time instead of dodging the strike, she caught his wrist. Kim then drove her foot into her attacker's gut and in one fluid rolling motion, threw him over her shoulder.

"Oh, snap," Chad cursed the split second before Tyler crashed into him.

Kim sprang back up waiting for either rustler to come in but they didn't. Instead, she heard an unfamiliar, adult voice.

"Hey, Red," the voice called out, "If'n I were you, I'd give up right 'bout now, unless ya want somethin' nasty happening to yer boyfriend."

She turned in the direction of the voice where she saw a tall, well-dressed cowboy standing at the far corner of the ranch house. He was flanked by the two rustlers that she had knocked out earlier. Instantly, Kim went pale as she saw that he had one foot resting on a rope-bound Ron and a large pistol pointed at his head. He pulled back on the hammer to emphasize his point.

"P-P-Please, don't hurt him," she choked, "I-I give up."

To be continued…

-------------------

Chapter End Notes: I do like how the fight scene turned out. It was hard to choreograph but I watched a couple of kung fu tournament videos to get an idea. The things we do for our craft. Kim's martial arts, the Ron Factor and a touch of some extra stuff that we all know and love. A little premature? I would think that he had something in him before Yamanouchi. They had to go on something in making their decision for Ron to be the Chosen one. See, no freak-fighting hence no weird hi-tech weaponry…


	9. The Triple T

Legal Disclaimer: What? Me own Kim Possible? No, that's Disney. I just write stories about them purely for entertainment and not for profit…

Thanks to Ran Hakubi and CajunBear73 for reviewing.

--

**Second Mission, Second Thoughts**

**Chapter 9: The Triple T **

Rufus watched helplessly from his hiding place – inside a bucket that Ron had knocked over, near the pen's gate. He had intended to free the cattle and almost succeeded but the recent developments halted his efforts. Kim was winning until a new human emerged, captured Ron, and forced Kim to surrender. The new and taller human pointed a gun at Ron, while he rested his boot on the blonde's shoulder. Two of the rustlers grabbed her arms but Kim didn't put up much of a struggle. The new human then nodded approvingly to the rustlers and they plunged stun prods into Kim and Ron's sides. Kim let out a yelp and collapsed on the spot. Ron howled before succumbing to the jolt. Then, he did something strange – he had the others rob Kim and Ron of their jackets. Rufus himself shivered, seeing that he didn't have a coat of fur to keep him warm.

He nudged them with his boot and satisfied that the stunning devices did their job, took his revolver, spun it around his finger and shoved the weapon in its holster.

Despite his urge to rush up and bite the rustlers, Rufus stayed where he was and could nothing but watch the rustlers as they carried Kim and Ron into the ranch house. For now, he had to stay warm and the bucket helped.

"Ryan, Tyler," the tall cowboy barked, "Git on out there and make sure we don't have anymore surprises."

"Yes sir," they both chimed and left.

"Chad, go git Troy and Gabe."

"Sure, Mr. Tom, sir."

--

The naked mole rat waited until Chad was out of sight and scampered across the path, making his way to a nearby window. Peering from the corner of it, he watched the rustlers prop Kim and Ron up against either side of a support beam and tie them to it. Rufus was getting more and more frustrated, seeing that he couldn't do anything but watch. He feverously wanted to do something – they were his family. Ron had been in his life most of the time and had shown him a great deal of friendship, kindness and respect ever since he left Smarty Mart. Kim, although wary of him at first, was on her way to doing the same – she was growing on him. Plus, Ron had known Kim for a long time before he came around and Rufus knew that Ron really, really liked Kim – that was enough for the naked mole rat.

--

Kim and Ron regained consciousness almost at the same time and both knew that they had been captured. They struggled to get out of the rope but to no avail.

"That won't do ya no good. Shane is good at rope tyin' and that there's some really good rope," the tall cowboy remarked from his chair.

He stood up and slowly circled them, scrutinizing the captured pair as he walked. The younger rustlers simply sat in silence, watching. Then, after a full circle, he stopped and leaned in, looking at Kim and then at Ron. Snorting, he sat back down and stared at them. "So," the tall cowboy huffed in a deep voice, "who are ya, and who sent ya?"

Kim and Ron didn't answer. The red-haired teen was busy studying the apparent mastermind behind the whole operation. He was somewhat of a towering figure – Kim judged that he was at least six foot four, with a large frame and a rugged, yet pleasant face. Like his cohorts, he was decked out in western gear. Boots, jeans, chaps, flannel shirt, a duster, a bandana, and ten-gallon hat made up his ensemble. Further embellishing his "cowboy" image was a lasso, spurs and a gun belt, holding two revolvers. Kim noticed that his clothing was much nicer, too nice, for a regular cowboy. It looked as if he shopped at Club Banana or similar trendy store on a regular basis.

Ron, on the other hand, was too scared to answer; the guns frightened him but what was worse was that the cowboy reminded him of the soldier that he had dreamed about on the plane. His voice echoed throughout his skull.

The older cowboy saw Ron's reaction to the guns and used his overcoat to cover them. He looked them over again and then after a few moments he spoke. "Hmm," he muttered, stroking his chin, "Well, sir, yer too young ta be with the sheriff or any sorta law type. In fact, yer too young ta be anythin' worth worrying 'bout. But somehow ya got where ya weren't supposed ta be."

Just then, one of the blonde rustlers walked in with Troy and Gabe under each arm. All three cowboys stumbled to the couch and collapsed on it. The tall cowboy looked back momentarily. "And," he said turning back to face them, "it looks like ya can hold yer own in a scrap or two."

"So," Chad interjected, "what do we do we with them, Mr. Stone?"

"_Mr. Stone? Mr. Dwight Thomas Stone? The missing businessman is responsible for the missing cattle? But why?"_ Kim contemplated.

Suddenly, his face twisted. He reached in his duster, whipped out a revolver, whirled around and pointed it towards Chad, "That's Texas Tornado Tom the third to you!" he barked.

Texas Tom waved the gun at the other rustlers. "Ya hear that? It's Texas Tornado Tom the third or just Texas Tom! The best cowboy in these here parts! Got it?"

"Y-y-yes, sir, Mr. Texas Tornado Tom the third, sir," all the rustlers replied.

"Much better," he said loosing a deep breath, "Much better."

--

He swung his gun towards the two teens, saying as he turned back around, "Now, ta the matters at hand, starting with missy over here."

Before he could face Kim, Ron spoke out, "D-Dude, y-you got some issues."

"Ron?" Kim gasped.

Texas Tom's gun came back but rested on his lap. His face wore a look of surprise mixed with confusion.

"Y-You got the cowboy part down but 'Texas'?" Ron continued, his voice becoming more sure with each passing moment, "I might not have gotten an 'A' or even a 'B' in geology but I know this isn't Texas. Shouldn't it be like Montana something?"

"I-It's geography, Ron," Kim corrected as he eyes darted back and forth between Texas Tom and Ron.

"Ohhhh right. What she said," Ron shrugged. "Anyway, you're like a state away."

Kim wanted to correct him again but realized that what he was doing was getting him to focus on him and not her. He was acting like a "distraction".

"And 'tornado'?" Ron continued, "Not really seeing it."

Texas Tornado Tom stared at Ron for almost a minute. With each passing second, Ron could feel more and more beads of sweat forming on his brow. Panic was gaining a grip on his rapidly beating heart.

"Texas?" the cowboy retorted, "Look at me, I'm a cowboy! Texas and cowboys go together. And tornado? Well, it's best I show ya."

He picked up his revolver and, with a flick of his wrist, spun the gun around his finger from the trigger guard. As he whirled it, Texas Tom raised it high to display his showmanship to everyone. With the weapon still moving, he brought his arm down and stopped it by grabbing the handle. "Like it?" he smiled. Texas Tornado Tom held the long barreled weapon in front of his face, "I learned that myself."

He leaned back in his chair and remarked, "Still, "Texas Tornado Tom the third" is a mouthful. So I guess just "Texas Tom" fine fer now."

Ron forced down a gulp and then replied timidly "Oh, I, ah, get it. Eh, cowboy. The twirly thingee with the guns and all. Heh-heh."

Texas Tom stared at the blonde teen in silence. The gun moved slowly back to its holster and then, unexpectedly he loosed a deep laugh. "Haw! Haw! Haw! Yer a funny one, 'Ron.'"

Ron smiled nervously, "Yeah, uh I'm all full of uh laughs. Heh heh." He blew out a nervous sigh.

"Hilarious," he chuckled, slapping his knee. Texas Tom then drew in a deep breath, "So now that ya buckaroos are a talkin', who sent ya?"

"No one sent us," Kim retorted, "We were just trying to find a lost calf for Mr. Davis. We didn't know––"

"DAVIS?" he bellowed, "He sent you two? Why––"

"Mr. Davis doesn't even know that you're here," Kim cut in, "In fact, WE didn't even know you where here until now. We were only following the tire tracks from where you picked up Gertie."

"Yeah and besides Mr. Davis is pretty cool. He treated us to some great meals. And Rachael's Rodeo Ribeye? Most excellent, I might add."

Kim gave him a strange look.

"What?" Ron shrugged, "It's true."

"The Rodeo Ribeye?" Texas Tom spat, "I'm a thinkin' that needed a bit more garlic salt in the marinade."

"Pfft. Garlic salt? Dude, that was just right. I'm thinking that the grilling spices needed a touch more smoked paprika."

"Excuse me," the redhead spoke out, "I'm sure that you chefs could go on all night about this, but I have an important question, 'why'?"

"Why?" the tall cowboy asked with a slightly shocked tone, "You got the nerve ta ask why?"

The teen pair noticed that this got the attention of Texas Tom's henchmen. "Because I know I can run a ranch better than any cowpoke in these here parts and make a mother load of cash in the process. I got the business know-how, best heads of cattle here, and thanks ta my "Wildcats", none of these amateur cowpunchers are any of the wiser. The 'Triple T' will be the best in the West."

"So if you have the business 'know how', then why steal from other ranchers? And why would you need armed ranch hands?" Kim retorted.

"One, it's easier to get the business running and two; blanks, missy, fer show."

He pulled a revolver, spun it around his finger and slid it back into his holster in one fluid motion. "Except mine of course."

"Right. And that's why you've got a flat tire––"

"An oversight that needs a correctin'" he replied, shooting Troy a harsh glare, "Right?"

Troy shook his head 'yes' nervously.

"Anyways, I can do way better than anyone out here and if I need ta do a little borrowing of assets then I'll do it, but murder is not something I'm willing to stoop to ya hear!"

"Sir, w-w-why are you telling them all of this?" Chad interjected.

"Because I can and it's what we head honcho-types do," sending a threatening glare in his direction.

"_What? Is there some sort of villain handbook or something?"_ Kim questioned under her breath

Then, Ryan and Tyler walked in. They were unaware of the recent conversation. Ryan spoke up. "It looks like it's only these two. We found two horses out near the front of the ranch and it looks like only two sets of tracks. They've got some light camping gear, climbing stuff, and this." The blonde rustler presented the Kimmunicator.

Kim suppressed her gasp.

Ron gulped.

"Let me see that," Texas Tom demanded. He held it up, turned it around and eyed it suspiciously. "It looks like a PDA or a cellphone."

"It's a Gameguy," Ron blurted out.

"It doesn't look like one to me and I've seen a lot of those," Shane retorted.

"I-It's a, a," Ron bowed his head slightly admitting, "It's a cheap knockoff. Yeah," Raising his head, he continued, "I couldn't afford a real one. I didn't know how long I'd be out here so brought it along. I'm all about the cheap portable entertainment."

"Looks like one – cheap," Shane scoffed.

"Yeah, heh-heh it does doesn't it?" Ron smiled weakly.

"I can use a Gameguy, knockoff or not," Shane replied.

"Well, I don't have time for games," Texas Tom replied, tossing the Kimmunicator on the table, "And neither do y'all. We have too many things ta do now."

Texas Tom pulled off his hat and swept back his hair with his fingers. He loosed a deep sigh and then turned to Kim and Ron "You two really messed things up. And now I gots ta move the operation."

"Move?" the henchmen all groaned.

"But, what about these two?" one of the blonde haired Wildcats questioned, "They've seen too much and I'm not really comfortable with that."

"Good point, Shane," he answered, putting on his hat, "Well I'm not resorting to killin'. What we'll do is drop 'em off somewhere far off and let 'em wander. They look pretty resourceful. Sure, it'll take a while ta find someone or some place but by that time, we'll be long gone. And if they say something, the sheriff will figger that they've been seein' things out here. It's happened before."

Texas Tom leaned back and smiled. Most of the other rustlers seemed to be satisfied with their boss's reasoning and grinned. "Shane?" the cowboy mastermind queried.

"Yes, sir?"

"You've done what I paid you ta do, right?"

"Yeah. We're clean. If they look, they'll find nothing and chalk it up as a loss."

"Good."

"I still don't like it," Tyler retorted.

"Stop worrying, Tyler. In a few hours, it'll be as if we were never here."

"Well, after we get that flat fixed," Gabe added.

Troy uttered a low growl.

"We wouldn't have that flat if y'all listened ta me! Shock sticks only! I knew I shouldn't have given you all real guns!" he hollered.

Not one of the henchmen said anything in response.

--

"_Something's not right,"_ Kim reasoned internally, _"This can't be the same Dwight Thomas Stone that Wade found. It doesn't fit his MO. He's got a good, legitimate business in Utah. Why throw it all away? And the "Wildcats". They don't seem like the criminal type. Motivated by money – yes, Career criminal – no. Whatever the sitch is we have to get out of here and get the police involved. I hope Ron's holding out okay. If they do anything to him…"_

Kim looked in concern to her best friend, wondering what he was thinking; his face was hard to read.

"_Cattle rustlers, guns, and shock thingees. This would be kind of cool if they weren't going to like shock us and strand us out here. All I wanted to do was help Kim rescue that calf. I don't think I'm cut out for this kind of thing."_ Ron thought and slumped slightly.

--

Then, after a few tense moments, Texas Tornado Tom sighed, "Well, it's not a total loss, seein' that we just set up here. All right guys, Plan B. Y'all know what to do and where ta go right?"

All of the henchmen nodded. "Good," he replied, "We need ta move and fast. Troy, you fix that flat, seeing that you're responsible for it. Everybody except Shane, git the gear and cattle loaded. And Shane?"

"Yes sir?"

"You watch these two. Don't let them try anything."

"Yes, sir," Shane grinned, flicking on the cattle prod to emphasize his point. He took his place guarding then on a sturdy chair next to the table.

Texas Tom strode for the door but stopped short of it. He turned towards them and spoke in an even tone, "Sorry, but I gotta business ta run…But y'know, it would make it a lot easier if'n ya join us. You were pretty impressive out there, little lady. You and your friend took out my Wildcats pretty quickly. Maybe you two want to join up? I pay well, very well."

"Thanks, but no thanks," Kim replied, "I'll take my chances out there."

"That goes for me, too," Ron added, "Although, I could do without the electrical shocks if you know what I mean."

He snorted derisively. "Suit yerself but at this time of year, the rains come down pretty hard and it gets awful cold out there."

To be continued…

--

Chapter End Notes: Initially, I wanted to wrap this up here, trying to keep this under nine chapters. I looked it over and well it felt rushed – so I expanded a little. Plus, I wanted to make Texas Tornado Tom a more plausible character and flesh out the henchmen.


	10. All Tied Up

Legal Disclaimer: Yeah I know – I don't own Kim Possible, Disney does. I did create Texas Tornado Tom but I'm not making any money off of his character or Disney.

Thanks to CajunBear73, JAKT and Ran Hakubi for reviewing.

-------------------

**Second Mission, Second Thoughts**

**Chapter 10: All Tied Up**

Kim's mind raced as she sat quietly, trying not to attract Shane's attention. _"There's got to be a way out of this. Ron was right, we should have had some sort of cutting tool. I didn't even think to bring a pocket knife. Maybe there's something around here that I can use."_

Kim glanced about the room; it was dilapidated with missing floorboards, holes in the wall and ceiling and rotted fixtures; but nothing that would help them get out of the mess that they were in. She was surprised that Mr. Stone decided to use the old ranch house in the first place. He would have to spend a lot of money to get this place running. Still, there was some progress; it was fairly clean, furnished with rudimentary comforts, and sported basic lighting. Kim rocked back and forth ever so gently to check the beam they were attached to. No good – it was solid and rooted firmly to the floor. She saw their gear off to one side, but way too far for her to reach. The redhead sighed and slumped.

------------------

Ron was also looking around the room. _"Oh man, this is it. We're going to get dumped out of the middle of nowhere, get all cold and wet and then nobody's going to believe us. Maybe, Kim can get us out of this."_

Ron gazed over at his best friend and watched her shoulders drop. _"Aw man, she's giving up already. She can't give up, now. I gotta do something but what?" _

------------------

Shane was hardly watching the teens. He eyed the Kimmunicator and wanted take it but didn't. Nervously, he rocked in his chair, glanced around and drummed his fingers on the table. He pushed his chair back but leaned in close, hovering over the object of his desire. He was just about to grab it when he heard shouts outside.

"The cattle are loose! They're escaping!"

Shane dashed out to the front door and confirmed that the bovines were pouring out of the gate. Several of them had made it to the front gate. Others were wandering throughout the complex. While one of them still remained in the open pen. Outside, two of the rustlers tried to shepherd them in but the chaos was too much for just them to handle. The blonde rustler shot a glare to the two imprisoned teens. Kim and Ron were just as surprised as he was and shrugged. Shane's stun stick erupted to life and he rushed up to the teens. He leaned close to Ron bringing the electrified stick close to his chin; the overpowering smell of ozone assaulted Ron's nostrils. Kim wriggled as much as she could; her best friend was in danger but the ropes rendered her powerless. "Just two of you?" Shane growled, "Who's the other one out there?"

"I-I-It's just me and Kim," Ron choked, "I swear!"

"Care to explain that?" he yelled, pointing outside.

"Eh, eh, uh, poor workmanship on the lock?" he squeaked, moving as far away as he possibly could.

"Wrong," Shane replied as inched the stun baton towards his chin.

"There's nobody else! Mr. Davis hired Kim and I came along! That's it!"

"Are…you…sure?" he asked as he readied the charged weapon to strike.

"Ahhhh! Kim!" Ron screamed and shuddered. His world started to spin and his head lolled to one side.

"H-he's telling the truth!" Kim blurted out with tears rolling off her cheeks, "P-Please…don't hurt him…" Kim sniffed, "I-I fiddled with the lock earlier but couldn't get it to open. M-Maybe it popped open or something."

Shane held his weapon over his shoulder, poised to strike as he examined the two. The blonde was sweating, shaking, and was on the verge of passing out. Tears flowed from the redhead's emerald eyes as she tried to wipe them away with her shoulder. She was in no shape to do anything substantial. "You're lucky your girlfriend spoke up," he huffed.

Kim opened her mouth in her defense but a voice called out from outside, "Shane!"

"Yeah?"

"Git on out here and help out with this mess!"

"But the intruders––"

"They're not going anywhere! Getting' this cleaned up is more important!"

Shane snorted as he made his way out the door. "Don't leave just yet," he mocked, "I haven't finished what I started."

------------------

After the rustler disappeared, Kim looked at Ron. "Ron," Kim sniffed, "I-I don't want you to go with me on these missions anymore."

Ron stared at her without blinking. "KP, I didn't mean to mess up – "

"No! It's not that! I…just don't want you to get hurt," Kim sniffed again, "That was way to close. I don't want it to ever get that close. If I lost you," Tears began to flow again. I don't know what I would do…In fact, I-I don't think I want to do this anymore."

"WHAT?"

"You heard me. If we somehow manage to get out of this, then that's it. The website goes – "

"NO!"

"Wha––"

"Kim, will you stop it for a minute and let me say something?"

His red-haired best friend sniffled and nodded a 'yes'.

"Good. We've been friends for a long, long time – since Pre-K. In fact, I don't think either of us has had any other friends for this long. And I'm surprised that you put up with me for that long," the blonde teen smiled. Kim, in turn, let out a small smile between sniffles.

"Scared, yes, but not hurt."

"You could have – and I don't know what I'd do if you were – especially since it's my fault for all of this."

"Wha – What are you talking about? You're not making any sense."

"I practically dragged you out here, I forced you stay when we should have left and called the police, and, and – "

"Stop right there, Kim. We'll get out of this. I'm not sure how or even when but we will. And…you didn't drag me out here; I came out here because I wanted to – because I needed to. I got your back and you got mine."

"Ron––"

"Not finished."

"Sorry."

"So don't give this up. Don't stop doing what you do because you're good at it – really good. Besides, if you gave up now, I don't think you'd ever be really happy. You'd be miserable...Now, what did you say when you started up your website? 'I can do anything', right?"

Kim nodded, "Ron…Thanks."

"No big KP, that's what I'm here for, back up. Besides, you got the mad kung fu skills."

Kim snaked her hand as best she could through the ropes. After a few moments of wandering, she managed to find her best friend's hand and grasped it tightly. Her eyes sparkled not from tears of sadness or despair but from happiness and gratitude. Drawing in a deep breath, she said, "So how do we get out of this?"

"I have no idea," he said, ending with an embarrassing smile.

"Well, we need some way out of here."

Ron noticed that Kim had not let go of his hand – not that he wanted her to, but it was unusual being longer than most times. Regardless, Ron let it pass, he was comfortable with it and they were just friends – best friends. Still, there was that small, nagging feeling, way deep down…

------------------

The two teens sat in silence pondering their fate. They had noticed that the noise outside was slowly dying down. Chaos was turning into relative calm, which meant that their time was almost up. Then, they heard different sounds; a truck revving its engine.

Ron could feel Kim's hand slowly increasing its grip. He was just about to say something when he had noticed a small shadow, too small to be a person, scuttling towards them. "K-Kim?" Ron said in a voice tinged with fright, "There's something crawling in here."

"I'm not surprised. Just look at this place."

"Kim that something is crawling this way! What if it's a spider or worse – a monkey! Ohhhhh, monkeys!" Ron breath became more rapid but shallow.

"Ron, snap out of it! There's no monkeys out here!"

"So it's a spider! A spider? Ahhhhhhh!"

"Ron! Calm down! It's not a spider," She pleaded but then saw the shadow as it approached. Her green eyes grew large as she uttered, "It's…too…big…to be…a spider." Her grip on his hand was crushing but Ron didn't notice. His fear went into overdrive and he started thrashing about. Screams issued forth, nearly deafening the redhead. Then, the form stepped into the light to reveal a pink, hairless mammal, standing on two legs. "Hiya!" he waved.

"Rufus?" Kim exclaimed, releasing her clasp.

Instantly, Ron's wailing stopped. "Rufus?"

"Yep, that's me!" he squeaked.

"Don't scare me like that!"

"Sorry," he muttered, putting his hands together before him in an apologetic pose.

"It's okay little buddy. Hey, was it you that opened the lock?"

"Uh-huh, uh-huh!"

"Good job! Can you chew through these ropes?"

"Sure!" he squeaked.

Kim just sat there and still couldn't believe that Ron was holding a decent conversation with his beloved pet. What was more incredible was the she was beginning to understand some of it.

------------------

After a minute of chewing, Rufus made short work of the rope. It might have been 'some really good rope' but it wasn't a match for the naked mole rat's teeth. As the rope loosed its hold, the pair stood up, letting the rope slough off of them. Ron scooped up his non-human best friend and both Kim and Ron slowly made their way to the door, only to hear the cowboy mastermind speak.

"Good work boys," Texas Tom yelled, "That little snafu actually turned in our favor. The cattle loading is almost done. Once we're done here, all we have ta do is clean up house and we're done."

Lightning flashed overhead. Ron would have let loose a scream if it were not for Kim's quick thinking, covering his mouth. As all eyes soared skyward, the tall cowboy declared, "And just in time too. I'm a guessing that the weatherman was wrong. Looks like we're going have some rain. Too bad for our visitors."

"We need to get out of here," Ron stated, slowly sliding Kim's gloved hand off his chin.

Kim's eyes narrowed. "No."

"No?!?" Ron's eyes widened, "Uh, Kim didn't you hear what I just said back there?"

"Yes I did. I also heard you say 'not to give up'. Remember your little inspiring speech?"

Ron was floored – and ashamed. He let fear get the best of him, at least momentarily. He sighed, "Yeah."

She continued, "We need to stop them here and now. You heard Texas Tom, once they get out of here, they're home free and they'll start up their operation all over again. We can't let that happen."

"Right. What's the plan, KP?"

"We're going to take them out right here and right now."

"And how are we going to do that?"

"Well, I have a call to make and then we're going to need that rope…"

To be continued…

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Chapter End Notes: As I said before, I didn't want to rush this as it gets down to the end. Plus I did want to highlight how dangerous a mission could be to both Kim and Ron. Stay tuned…


	11. It All Comes Down to This

Legal Disclaimer: For the last time, at least for this story, I don't own Kim Possible, Disney does. I do own a car though…

Thanks to CajunBear73, Ran Hakubi, MrDrP, and LTAOZFAN for reviewing.

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**Second Mission, Second Thoughts**

**Chapter 11: It All Comes Down to This**

"So you got the plan?" the redhead queried.

Ron looked at the set up. Most of the downstairs lights were turned off except for one in the far back and one close to his best friend. Kim was off to one side, posed to swing down at the door. One hand was holding onto her grappling line and the other had the Kimmunicator. "Let's see. First, you want me to get them to chase me through this doorway. When they come through, you use the Kimmunicator scanner thingee to blind them. Then you swing at them, and knock them out."

"Right," Kim replied and looked into the gadget, "Is the Kimmunicator ready, Wade?"

"Yep," the technical genius replied, "I've modified the emitter remotely to produce a charged photon pulse. Push the 'up' button, hold it for a second, and release. That should have the same effect as flash bulb – A really big flash bulb. So be sure to look away or shut your eyes before then. By the way, I called the local sheriff and after a little convincing, he should be there soon."

"You convinced the sheriff?" a surprised Kim replied.

"Let's just say that I had some interesting video footage of the place," he smiled and leaned back in his chair. "Good luck guys."

"You rock, Wade!" she said as the transmission ended.

Ron had a strange look on his face as he gazed at Kim. Taking notice of Ron, Kim asked, "What?"

"So, I'm like the distraction, right?"

"'Distraction?' I guess you call it that. But unless you somehow know some form of martial arts or something – "

"'kay. Gotcha. Distraction it is," he said as he moved to the doorway. Then, suddenly, he stopped.

Kim, sensing his hesitation, asked, "Ron, are you okay with this? I mean I'm asking a lot…and you could get hurt."

Ron looked at her with a thoughtful expression, "Yeah, I'm fine with it. It's no problem, KP, really. It's just that…I have the feeling that you should be offering me some snackage like a mini chimerrito – "

"Chimerrito!" Rufus exclaimed as he popped out of Ron's pocket.

"Sorry buddy, no chimerritos here."

"Aww," Rufus grumbled, and disappeared into the pocket.

Ron chuckled lightly and then continued, "Where was I? No problem. Funny feeling. Snackage. Oh yeah snackage, you know – kind of like a bribe."

A puzzled expression grew on her face. "Bribe?"

"Yeah, I know," Ron shrugged, "Weird."

Ron looked out the doorway and saw the Wildcats were almost finished with their task. "Okay buddy, here it goes," he said as set Rufus down by the doorway, "Stay here in case something goes wrong."

Rufus saluted his human and raced to the top of one of the chairs near the window. Ron then looked to Kim and gave a thumbs-up.

"Ron, please: be careful out there."

"Hey, it's just me, the distraction," he smiled and disappeared out the door

Kim checked the rope one last time as she watched her best friend step outside the doorway. She whispered, "'Weird'…kind of nice," and turned off the light next to her.

------------------

Once Ron reached the porch, lightning flashed again accompanied by light rain but Ron didn't scream or run. He wanted to, but held his ground – Kim was counting on him. He grabbed an empty glass bottle and threw it down to the ground where it exploded with a loud crash. "Oh no! I seemed to have knocked down something. I hope that they did not hear that," Ron uttered in loud voice, but in a tone sounding like a bad actor.

Kim shook her head, "Not Oscar material but it works."

------------------

"Hey!" one of the rustlers cried, "They got loose!"

Soon all eyes were on the blonde teen. "What the? He's escaped? Get 'em boys! We can't let 'em get away!" Texas Tom commanded.

Shane started first with his club ablaze with electricity and was soon followed by the others. Ron screamed at the top of his lungs as he turned and fled into the house. The muscles all over her body flexed as Kim saw Ron run by and disappear into the darkness. Then, she heard the Wildcats tromping in.

With exception of the single light in the back corner, it was dark. The male intruder was missing, most likely hiding somewhere in the darkness. "I don't like this. Someone get the lights."

An instant later, there was a click, and then a whining sound. "How about this?" a female voice retorted as almost instantly an intense, pale blue light flashed. In the darkness, voices groaned and complained "Ah!" "I can't see." "What happened?" "I'm blind!"

Then, Kim took off and collided with the group. Ron flipped on the lights to see that Kim had knocked all the rustlers on the floor. Some of them were out cold, others groaned. Using the rope, Kim and Ron quickly tied the Wildcats hands and feet, starting with the semi-conscious ones. After a few minutes, Kim said matter-of-factly "Well, that takes care of the henchmen. What about Texas Tom?"

"What about me?" the cowboy mastermind replied, drawing his gun and pointed in their general direction.

Lightning flashed again but this time, the rain started to come down, hard. "Ahh!" the blonde shrieked as he stumbled backwards to the ground.

Kim was quiet but raised her hands in surrender.

"Ya'know, I didn't want ta resort ta killin' but you're makin' it really hard not ta…Now why don't you untie my boys here and I'll let ya live."

"Like we're going to have any choice?" Kim said, breaking her silence.

"Not really," he replied, leveling his revolver at Kim but she didn't move. He looked at the red-haired girl; she had a serious and almost smug expression.

"Kim!" Ron cried as he moved to place himself between the gun and his best friend.

"Maybe you need a little…incentive," he said, redirecting his aim to the blonde teen's head.

Kim's smugness quickly evaporated. "Ron!"

Texas Tom let out a loud huff and moved to pull back the gun's hammer. "I said, let 'em g – Ahhhhh!" The cowboy mastermind howled as he dropped his weapon. As his weapon fell to the ground, a pink blur raced to the ground as well. "My hand! Something bit my hand!" he wailed, grasping it with his uninjured one.

Ron kicked Tom's revolver off to one side and said as Rufus leapt to his shoulder, "Naked mole rat."

Rufus leaned forward and issued a raspberry to the wounded cowboy.

"I've got something, too," Kim added. He looked to the owner of that voice only to find himself witnessing the redhead sailing through the air, boot first, towards him. The impact sent him out of the house, past the porch and onto the muddied dirt road. After skidding to a stop, his head rolled to one side. The last thing he remembered was the redhead, followed by the blonde walking out of the old house towards him.

------------------

Texas Tom's slowly opened his eyes to the sight of blue and red flashing lights. It was still raining but it had lessened considerably. Although things were still blurry, he could make out at least four sets of police lights and several people. Some of them were standing around talking to each other while others were in motion. He could make out his Wildcats being lead into a police wagon. Looking around, he guessed that he had been out for a good hour or more. Texas Tom looked at himself; he was surprised to find that he was restrained to a gurney. Two EMT's were moving him to an awaiting ambulance.

"Whu-what's going on?" he asked trying to get up but found that he had lacked the strength to do so.

"We're taking you to MONARC Injury Center in Great Falls, Mr. Stone," one of the EMT's replied.

"How many times do I have ta tell you people," he replied weakily, "its Texas Tornado Tom the third!"

A medic stepped out from the van. "Please Mr. Sto – Tom sir. Calm down. You've experienced some – head trauma and it's not from your recent encounter. We have some people that want to help you in Great Falls."

"But ya don't understand!" he mumbled, trying to get out of the medical cot, "I've got a business ta run. I'm the best in these here parts!"

"Please sir, try to calm down. We don't want to have to resort to stronger sedatives," the medic pleaded as they loaded him into the medical van.

------------------

Kim and Ron watched as the doors closed. They were still unsure of what exactly happened but were glad that it was over. With the operation shutdown, Texas Tom was being taken away, the 'Wildcats' were loaded in the paddy wagon and the cattle was being returned to their owners. They strode over to Mr. Davis, who was talking to the sheriff and one of his deputies. Kim and Ron had already told the sheriff a detailed account of what had happened earlier and now it was time for Mr. Davis to add his testimony. It looked like he had just finished. "Yes sir," John said to one of the police officers, "That's Mr. Stone."

"Thank you, Mr. Davis," the sheriff replied, tipping his hat, "If we need to contact you later, can we call the ranch?"

"Yes, sir."

With that, they went onto interview another rancher.

"So, **that** was Mr. Stone?" the redhead asked.

Mr. Davis turned to Kim and Ron. "Yes ma'am. Nice fella – at least when he first came up to the ranch. He came up to the ranch a month ago for an ol' fashioned cattle drive. He fancied himself as a cowboy but he didn't quite make it. Tried to ride ol' Foxtrot but took a nasty spill. Doc McCoy checked him out. He told Mr. Stone that he should see a specialist in Great Falls but Mr. Stone downright refused. Next morning, he said he had some urgent business, paid the rest of his stay in full and left. That was the last I heard of him – until now. Kim, I can't thank you and Ron enough. You're welcome to stay at my ranch any time."

"Thanks, Mr. Davis," Kim beamed, "I was just glad I could help out."

"Are you going to stay the night?"

"Sure. It is pretty late."

"Can we get some of that ribeye?" Ron chimed in.

Mr. Davis chuckled, "I'm sure Rachael would be happy to oblige."

"Badical!"

"Ya'll just sit tight, I'm going to check on Gertie and then I'll bring the truck around."

------------------

Ron sat on the steps of the old house, watching as the police and ranchers sorted out the whole mess. Kim sat next to him but was sure that she wasn't too close. Ron noticed but gazed at his best friend with a warm smile. Kim returned his smile and folded her arms. She shivered slightly, mostly from the frigid night air. "Cold?" he asked.

"A little."

"Come here," he beckoned. Kim looked at him hesitantly. "What?" Ron asked, "You're cold. Our jackets are gone. I'm just offering to keep you warm. Besides, I'm a little chilly myself."

"'K," Kim grinned and allowed his arm to hold her. It was – nice.

------------------

After a few minutes of watching quietly, Kim spoke up, "Ron, about doing all of this – this 'mission' thing––"

"Yeah, I was going to talk to you about that," he replied, looking across the yard.

"Oh," she replied, softly biting her lower lip.

He took a deep breath and then asked, "So what's the next mission?"

"What?" she blurted out, drawing herself away from her best friend.

"I said, 'so what's the next mission'?" Ron said plainly with a small smile.

"Are you serious? You still want to go with me, on these 'missions'? Even after all the guns, fights and craziness?"

He turned to her with his gentle brown eyes looking into her deep green ones. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared, you know, some of the time," Ron flashed sheepish smile, "But if this is something that you really want to do, then I'm all for it. Besides, I can't let you do this all by yourself."

"Ron I don't think I could do this without you."

"Then, I'm in. Like I keep telling you, I've got your back."

Kim smiled brightly and her eyes glistened. "Thanks, Ron," she half-whispered and rested her head on his shoulder.

"_This is – nice."_ Ron thought to himself.

A few moments later, Kim sat straight up, "Oh, there's one other person I should thank." She turned on her Kimmunicator and hit the speed dial for Wade. Almost immediately the African-American computer genius' face appeared on screen surrounded by his ever-present computer equipment. He was tired but cheerful. "Kim, I was just about to call you. I managed to repair the damage that Shane did to the other ranches' computers. Apparently, after the Wildcats took the cattle, he erased all the records of the missing cattle so the ranchers had nothing to follow up on. Without proof, the ranchers couldn't file a report," he said and then took a sip from his slurpster.

"Once again, Wade, you rock! But that's not why I called."

"Oh?"

"Actually, I just wanted to say thanks, thanks for everything. I'm not sure how we can pay you for all of this."

Wade put his soda down with one hand and held up his hand, palm facing the screen. "Kim, all I really wanted is to be part of this team. Besides, whether you believe it or not," Wade gave her a big smile, "you rock, too."

"So I'm told," she replies looking back at Ron. Turning her attention back to Wade. "Thanks. You're big part of the team." Kim smiled.

"Really? Thanks, Kim!"

"No big," she grinned and signed off.

"Booyah! We got ourselves a real team!"

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Both teens said their tearful goodbyes as they boarded Mr. Cutter's Lockheed L-100C. The flight was going fairly long but not too long and both decided to rest on the way back. Ron really wished that he had brought along his English assignment with him, seeing that he would have to start it as soon as he got home. Kim was fast asleep as soon as she had settled in.

Although the cargo manifest was different, Ron managed to remake his flour seat, seeing that the dog had taken his usual spot next to Kim. This time, he repositioned himself so that he could see his best friend easily. Despite her suggestion, Ron remained awake and watched over his best friend. Unfortunately, the steak sandwiches that Rachael supplied them with along with the relative comfort of his chair lulled the blonde to sleep and dreamland.

Once again, he found himself in his CC: II dream, aboard the dark olive C-130 Hercules. All the soldiers were there and soon the huge faceless commanding officer appeared next to him. Despite having seen this before, he still unnerved the blonde teen.

"Stoppable," the lead soldier's deep voice boomed, "Are you ready?"

"Y-yes sir."

Once again, Ron could see a white grin appear on the 'faceless soldier'.

"Scared?" the soldier asked, his voice tinged with mockery.

"Y-Yeah," Ron stuttered.

Slowly and carefully, the commanding officer leaned in and then bellowed "SO WHY ARE YOU HERE?!?"

Ron's initial reaction was to cower in fear. He wanted to, but didn't…because he saw Kim. The blonde soldier smiled and proclaimed, "Because I want to be here… and. for her, **SIR**!"

Surprisingly, the soldier leaned back and smiled. This time his smile had no trace of maliciousness.

------------------

Ron slept well for the remainder of the flight.

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Far to the west, across the Pacific, deep in the mountains of Japan, an old, bearded man with a golden robe watched as these events transpired in the small reflecting pool before him. A small smile came to his face…

- End -

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Chapter End Notes: First and foremost – Many, many thanks to cpneb for his beta-ing. Thanks also goes to my family and friends for their encouragement and support.

Other Stuff: The MONARC Injury Center in Great Falls, Montana is a real hospital and has a neurological center.


End file.
